Twin Souls
by Liralen Li
Summary: 2000 years ago, Ukitake Jyuushiro and Kyouraku Shunsui went to Yamamoto's Academy. This story goes from when they met to the point where they achieved shikai, and why they're the only two in Soul Society with twin blades. Mild yaoi content.
1. Introductions

It is nearly two thousand years ago...

And the Shinio Reijutsa Academy's second year student Ukitake Jyuushiro was homesick. After a full summer of being at home, with his mother, father, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and all kinds of family, being back at the academy felt like being kicked back into a dark, hard hole.

There wasn't the romance of the first year, of being starry eyed at being accepted at all. The wonder of getting a sword at all. The wealth of learning he could do about anything. He'd made some good friends last year, but he hadn't had the time to see many of them, yet, he'd been too busy trying just to get everything organized to start the year.

It didn't help having a womanizing, randomizing, lazy, good for nothing, drinking roommate either.

Right on cue, a herd of thundering feet ran towards their shared room. Kyouraku-kun threw open the sliding door to their room and whirled in, gracefully shutting said door in the faces of three... hmm... no four young women. There were cries of disappointment, laughter, some jests that made Jyuushiro put his face in his hands, and then chattering, light footsteps away.

Jyuushiro tried to ignore the whole thing and continue with his kido homework set.

His roommate laughed softly to himself and fell over onto his bed. "Did you see those cherry lips? Those heaving bosoms? Those slender arms and legs?"

"Hmph." Jyuushiro felt himself flushing even deeper at being so petty, but he was angry.

"Hmph? How can you say hmph?" said that low, laughing voice. "The delight of womanly company all flocking about you and all you can say is 'hmph'. What kind of man are you?"

Jyuushiro's fist tightened on his brush until it creaked. "An honorable one," he said, low-voiced.

"Hmph." Kyouraku-kun loomed up behind Jyuushiro's seat, "You need to loosen up that spine of yours, Shiro-chan."

The far too familiar address was just too much. Jyuushiro took the swing, letting it pull him out of his chair, knowing he was going to regret it. But it felt too good to just do it, to let everything flow into the blow. He didn't hold it back. Sometimes it was good knowing Kyouraku-kun's ranking from first year, he'd deserve it if Jyuushiro could hit him.

There was a yelp of surprise, but Kyouraku's arm blurred into a block, training set in, and his fist came at Jyuushiro's jaw.

Jyuushiro moved into the bigger man and to the side just enough for him to feel Kyouraku's fist graze his cheek and shoulder, and he unleashed a set of punches for Kyouraku's gut. Jyuushiro was inside the bigger man's reach, and he might as well do what he could while he was there. He felt a primal satisfaction as he heard Kyouraku grunt with the blows.

But he didn't quite realize the extent of Kyouraku's experience with bar room brawls. A knee came up, quite unexpectedly, and Jyuushiro's fine, fighting world exploded into pain. He would have screamed if he had enough air, but he didn't... and for a while he rolled around in his own world of hurt.

Then he started coughing. It racked him top to toe and he fought the now familiar fight for his own breath, his own body with the ragged endurance he'd found was the only way. He felt the blood splatter his knees, his hands, and knew he'd have quite a job cleaning up later. Slowed breath by slowed breath, finally his breathing evened out, his heart slowed. There was a warm, solid body next to him, trying to keep his head up so that it wouldn't hit the floor and for a moment, he leaned into the support, glad of it as he'd had too many bruises from how hard the coughs racked him.

Then he realized who it was, and his whole body flinched away.

"Hey... no... Ukitake-kun... I..." the deep voice sounded pained.

Jyuushiro's body shook, his eyes weren't quite clear yet from the violence of the coughing. Staring at the floor he just shook his head slowly at the voice. He whispered, "Just... just let me be... I'll... I'll be okay..."

"Like hell you will... I'll get a medic..." Jyuushiro heard the door slide open.

"No!" Jyuushiro gasped that out and said, more quietly, "No... please, don't. They can't make this any better. I don't want to be treated like some invalid. I... I can clean up... I'll be okay."

The door hesitated, and then slowly slid closed. Kyouraku's heavy tread moved away.

Jyuushiro relaxed as he felt he was left alone, and suddenly found himself curled up on himself, crying. He had to work very hard at not letting any sound out; the paper walls were thin. He didn't hear the heavy tread coming back.

But he did hear when the door slid open, without a knock, without anything. Jyuushiro was completely defenseless when he looked up and saw Kyouraku duck back into the room with a bucket of water and clothes hanging on his arm. Kyouraku didn't look at him, but simply knelt on the floor by the splatters of blood and started to mop up. Jyuushiro watched for a moment, getting himself back under his own control. The shock of the entry had composed him in a way nothing else could have. Then, he sighed, wiped his eyes, shrugged out of his kimono and undershirt, and knelt by the bucket, using one of the other clothes to clean himself up.

"Domo arigato gozaimas," he said, formally.

Kyouraku looked up at that, his brow furrowing. "No need to thank me... especially with that formal language stuff. I was the one that antagonized you."

Jyuushiro shrugged, "Politeness is the glue of civilized living."

Kyouraku raised an eyebrow, "And here I thought politeness was just half lying and half kissing ass."

Jyuushiro sat back on his heels. His anger had burned out between the fight and the crying, and in the calm after that, his thoughts were his own again. "No wonder you don't use it."

There was just a grunt from the young man opposite him. Jyuushiro bent to help with the floor cleaning and said, amused, "Spine bent enough for you?"

Kyouraku snorted and looked at Jyuushiro. "Just about. Hmmm... missed a bit..." and a damp cloth rubbed at a spot just under Jyuushiro's chin, along his throat. The touch made him close his eyes.

"Domo," Jyuushiro cut it off to keep it informal. He kept up the slow, steady work of cleaning up his own blood, and felt the brown eyes watching him. "What?"

A shrug. "I guess I'm wondering why you're here. With... that..."

"Consumption," he said, quite precisely. "I'm not here because of that."

A snort, "I know that... but... with it..."

"With it my endurance is for shit. But Yamamoto-sama said that I might be strong enough not to need too much endurance." He felt the eyes on his back, "Plus, I'm the first son, and... I see what the Hollows are doing to my family, to everyone. I gotta help."

"Duty, huh," said as if it were a dirty word.

He wasn't sure what Kyouraku-kun's deal was, but, "Yeah. Duty. Though... perhaps more love than just duty. I can do something the littles can't, yet, and my parents, grands and the like are too old for this, now. Someone has to help keep them safe."

There was only silence for a while, as they both finished the floor and Jyuushiro started dipping and rubbing the blood out of his kimono. It was useful that the kimonos were black.

"You've done that before," said Kyouraku.

"Sure. With eight kids in the family, one learns how to do laundry." He laughed, "I can mend, redo seams, and change a diaper, too." He sighed. "I don't miss diapers. I do miss..." He just shook his head and wrung the last of the blood out of the cloth. "There."

Kyouraku quirked an eyebrow, "Strong, huh?"

Jyuushiro shrugged, "If you ever made it to zanpakuto class, I'd be happy to show you."

"You'll show me yours if I show you mine?"

Jyuushiro frowned. That was a voice mocking something other than him. "Why are you here?"

"Ah... the polite one becomes less polite." Kyouraku sat back and slouched against the frame of his futon and looked up at the ceiling. "I got kicked out at home, and they told me that they paid for a room, classes, food and anything else I cared for while I'm here, instead. Chichi told me since I was a useless number two son, I might as well be cannon fodder."

"Your otousan said..." Jyuushiro blinked and shook his head.

"Formal, formal..." chided Kyouraku and then shrugged. "Anyway... I'm here to get drunk, kill a few Hollows, and enjoy the delicate flowers of femininity that fall upon my sword."

"You certainly are getting a good start on that track of study," Jyuushiro said dryly.

"One does what one can," Kyouraku laughed. "Wanna go for a drink?"

Jyuushiro pushed the hair out of his face, torn a little between homework and finally being human with his roommate. It was the middle of the week, and there was an early class...

The hesitation made Kyouraku's face close, "Okay, then... have a good study." He swung out the door with just a wave.

Jyuushiro was left feeling... well... left.

He humphed to himself, softly, and shook his head. There was no helping the drunk, rich bastard anyway. He might as well study and then get to sleep while he could, he'd probably get woken when his roommate came to bed, drunk, in the early dark of the morning.

* * *

**Acknowledgements**

The whole series would have been impossible without incandescens. She prompted my early ideas and has been a most wonderful editor and idea bouncer. Thank you, so much.

* * *


	2. Academy Life

The weeks went by.

Jyuushiro got woken up in the early hours of the morning a few more times than he cared to count. He usually just rolled over and went back to sleep.

After the first two weeks of Jyuushiro trying to wake Kyouraku-kun up for the first class of the day, Kyouraku-kun started disappearing all together. He just never showed up back at their room while Jyuushiro was there. Jyuushiro looked for him the first couple of mornings, but then started hearing rumors that Kyouraku-kun had figured out a way into and quietly out of the girls' dorms and that some of the local bars, which had figured out which side of their bread was buttered, were offering a free sleeping area after a hard night out.

He started looking for his roommate in his classes, but never really found him. Sometimes Jyuushiro wondered if Lady Kuchiki Akemi even knew that she had Kyouraku-kun in her kido class.

Sometimes he'd see Kyouraku-kun's belongings rearranged, clothing in the laundry hamper for the attendants, when he came back from classes, so there was some sign that he was still alive and keeping some decency of dress. Jyuushiro did notice that some of the non-uniform kimonos Kyouraku owned would have paid the rent, utilities, and food for his family for months. But he nearly never actually came face to face with his prodigal roommate. He did leave Kyouraku's stuff strictly alone, though the wealth of good ink, brushes, and paper made him ache.

In some ways his basically single room was a blessing. Jyuushiro could study all he liked, never get interrupted in his sleep, and do as he liked in the room.

But, one night, as he was trying to go to sleep, he realized that what was lulling him to sleep was the sound of Abe-kun in the next room snoring. At home he'd be sharing futon floor space with most of his siblings. Their breathing had always been there when he slept. The really littles would sometimes crawl into bed with him to be comforted from their nightmares. He missed the comfort of that closeness, if not the elbows and knees in the gut and back that inevitably followed.

He couldn't do much about how being so alone made him ache, so Jyuushiro threw himself more into his classes and his classmates.

* * *

"Jyuushiro-kun! Jyuushiro-kun!"

Jyuushiro looked back at the girl's voice shouting at him. "Hoshiko-chan? What do you need?"

Hoshiko laughed and swung about him on her toes, "I wanted to say thank you!"

"Oh?"

"Yes! Yes! Your hint about the fire balance in my spell structure really helped me build it properly, and Kuchiki-sama said that she'd like me to help with her spell research efforts after this! She offered me a scholarship to be a research assistant!" Hoshiko laughed.

"Congratulations!" Jyuushiro said warmly. He knew that Hoshiko's family was outside of the main city walls, in one of the higher districts, but still not exactly rich. The scholarship would help her out a great deal.

Suddenly, Hoshiko moved in very close and kissed Jyuushiro on the cheek, "Thank you, so very much." And then she whirled away again, laughing, as he felt his face heat. "See you!"

"See you later."

* * *

Ryuu-sama walked down the line of his hand-to-hand class, and everyone cringed -- even as they tried not to look like they were cringing -- in their practice gear. Ryuu-sama loomed over everyone, his musculature solid but lean as a whip, and everyone knew that his hand-to-hand combat skills were only rivaled by his own zanpakuto skills. He scared pretty much everyone.

"Line up for practice against each other," growled Ryuu-sama.

Okay... he scared nearly everyone. He didn't seem to scare Shiba Kenshin one bit. Kenshin-kun was big, too, and he stood with his head up, his hands behind his back, and a smirk on his face. "I don't want to practice against these losers. Hey, if Kyouraku-kun can have private lessons without these wimps, I can too. If you want to beat me up, I'll gladly learn from you, but these other weaklings can't teach me a thing."

Ryuu-sama furrowed his black brow. Jyuushiro felt his heart rate pick up when Ryuu-sama looked down at him. "Ukitake-kun. Teach him."

Jyuushiro blinked. Then he nodded. This was about class discipline. About respecting each other as classmates because they were going to be fighting together sometime, and that attitude was going to get someone killed.

Kenshin-kun was laughing and saying something like, "That white haired freak couldn't land a..."

And Jyuushiro kicked him in the jaw. Kenshin-kun went down like a tree, then, howling, got back up and rushed Jyuushiro. Jyuushiro faded to Kenshin-kun's left, remembering the bigger boy's tendency to strike solely with his right side, and put an elbow hard behind Kenshin-kun's ear. Even through the practice helmet, the blow landed hard.

He heard the bigger boy's body thud into the ground behind him. He looked back and didn't see the boy stir. He looked at his teacher and got the nod he was waiting for.

Then he let himself cough.

* * *

Six weeks into the school year, there was a gathering around the announcement boards and much whispering and some glances in Jyuushiro's direction.

He walked over to the boards, feeling eyes watching him from all over.

It was Kenshin that came right up to him, "Did you see?"

After the fight on the hand-to-hand grounds, Jyuushiro had treated Kenshin-kun with complete respect. And in response the other boy had become more friendly and open than Jyuushiro had seen him with anyone else. It was a lesson Jyuushiro would remember.

"See what?"

"On the detention and running boards..."

Jyuushiro was taken aback, "The punishment boards?"

"Hai. Kyouraku-kun is listed for nearly full-time detention and laps on the track."

"Kyouraku-kun?" Jyuushiro blinked and then laughed, "Well, if they can catch him and put him there... all power to them..."

"But..." Kenshin frowned, "But... he's..."

"He's my roommate?" asked Jyuushiro.

Kenshin nodded.

He shook his head, "Not since a couple of weeks into the year. He left as far as I know."

The murmurs all around him slowed, and folks started talking with him, face to face, about the flagrant waste of an education... but Jyuushiro, remembering the man mopping up a floor, felt a niggling sense of guilt at indulging his own outrage.

* * *

Jyuushiro heard her crying all the way down the hall as light footsteps approached his sliding door, so he washed his brush and ink stone and put them neatly away before the knock came on his door.

"Hai?" he said quietly. "Come in?"

The door slid open and Takahashi Rina peeked in, her face streaked with tears. "Oh..." she said and the wealth of disappointment in her voice was hard not to take personally. "Good afternoon, Ukitake-kun. Where is Kyouraku-kun?"

He bowed politely, "Good afternoon, Takahashi-san. I have no idea where he is. He does not leave me any information as to his whereabouts or goings."

"Oh," Rina said, so sadly that Jyuushiro felt his spine unbend, which made him smile a little at the memory of another unbending.

"I miss having a roommate," He found himself saying to his surprise, "Even when he was impossible to wake up in the morning."

Rina looked up at him and then shook her head and he heard the faintest of giggles from her, "He is impossible to wake up in the morning."

"So we share something. May I get you a cup of tea, Takahashi-chan? And you can tell me where you've seen him and maybe I'll start a search for him."

She smiled at the change in address, "I would enjoy the tea, Ukitake-kun, but..." she bit her lip, "I haven't actually seen him for a week, so I'm not sure I'd be of much help in finding him."

Jyuushiro went and got the tea, and, for the first time felt more unease at the absence of his roommate than his usual irritated relief.

* * *

The next day, Jyuushiro went to campus security. He knew a few of the folks there, from having organized some of the class events the previous year, and he asked around a bit about what to do about what might be a missing student.

Abe-kun's uncle, big Abe Michi, was stuffed behind the main desk. "What do you mean a missing student?"

"Uhm... I mean... someone that just... skips out on class and his living arrangements and... well..."

"No, no, I mean. WHO are you talking about, Ukitake-kun? I'm not good at dealing with maybes and whatsits."

"Oh." Jyuushiro hesitated. He didn't want to get Kyouraku-kun into trouble... but... "It's... Kyouraku Shunsui. People here haven't seen him in..."

Michi laughed, laughed a deep belly laugh that shook his jowls. "Shunsui-kun. He's funny, especially when he's drunk. He's not missing, he just ends up here some evenings when he's too drunk to keep his damned asauchi in his belt. He's still here from last night."

"He is?" said Jyuushiro, surprised.

"You want to see him? I think he's got a pounding headache at the moment, but you can see him..."

Jyuushiro thought about it, about the probable embarrassment of seeing his roommate for the first time in a cell and in pain. And he sighed, "No... I don't need to do that. I was just worried..."

"Well, if you need to see him, here's as good a place as any." said Michi with a wink.

"Thank you, Abe-san."

"You're quite welcome, Ukitake-kun. I'm glad you're doing better than he is."

Jyuushiro was surprised to find that that last phrase hurt more than it caused him any pride.

* * *

Yamamoto-sama's reiatsu rolled through the dormitory. Jyuushiro woke with a start and heard dozens of yelps, gasps, and startled noises from all the rooms around him. The old man was mad. This was going to be bad for whomever was the target of that burning temper.

He almost, but not quite, expected it when that fiery presence stopped in front of his door.

The single rap on the door was sharp. He heard at least Abe-kun and Sato-kun in the room next door jump at the report, but Jyuushiro took a deep breath and calmed himself over the deep fear he felt, and slid open the door.

"Good evening, Yamamoto-sama," he said, "How may I help you?"

"Good evening, Ukitake-kun. You may come with me."

And Jyuushiro followed that fiery presence, doing his best to breathe, and heard the whispers at his back. He hadn't actually seen the head of the school since being recruited to the school. It made sense. Yamamoto-sama was also the head of all the fighting forces in Soul Society, so he wasn't around as much to teach as the other teachers did, though all the teachers took some rounds with the regular forces in holding the Hollows at bay from the city proper.

The purpose of the school was to create more honed fighters. Right now Soul Society just barely held the peace in the city. The plan was to have a larger number of effective people who could use reiatsu to keep peace in all the areas around the city as well. Jyuushiro knew that in the future, Yamamoto-sama wanted to help all ghosts move on from the living world, rather than falling victim to the Hollows. Stop the problem at its source rather than just fighting the effects here.

It was a vision Jyuushiro really believed in.

So, even with fear in his heart, he followed the old man into the security building for the school.

He was startled, badly, when the old man led him to a secured room in the heart of the building. The walls screened reiatsu, and he couldn't feel anything beyond the reaches of the room. It was like putting on a hood, muffling senses he always took for granted.

Worse yet, all the second year teachers knelt behind a table in the room. Two older men that looked like guards stood by the door.

Bird-like Lady Kuchiki Amemi, the teacher of the kido classes, was the only one that was perfectly composed in her severe teacher's kimono and haori. Lord Shiba Kaede, more slender than his nephew, but with a shock of the same colored hair falling over his mild eyes, was the agility and shunpo instructor. The black gaze of Lord Ryuu Kurogane met Jyuushiro's somberly. It was Jyuushiro's gaze that dropped.

Jyuushiro saw one tatami mat set up in front of the table. Yamamoto swept an arm in the direction of the mat. "Kneel to the left."

"Yes, sir," Jyuushiro knelt to the side of the mat.

Yamamoto gestured to the guards, "Bring him."

Jyuushiro was totally unsurprised when the two men dragged in a cuffed, ragged, and red-eyed Kyouraku Shunsui to kneel next to him.


	3. Judgment

"The Shinio Reijutsa Academy Discipline Board is now in session," said one of the guards, crisply.

Jyuushiro and Shunsui traded furtive, quick glances with each other where they knelt on the mat. Shunsui looked away first.

Yamamoto-sama sat up and intoned, "This is not a court of civilian law, this is a court of military law. All the material damages brought before the civilian law court will be dealt with there. Please bring forth the charges against Kyouraku Shunsui as to his dereliction of duty and abandonment of his posts in the Academy."

Jyuushiro saw Shunsui's lips move over the word abandonment and he saw the dark lashes close over those dark eyes. Jyuushiro brought his gaze back to the grass mat in front of him, studying it intently. He kept studying it for the next two hours as he learned more than he had ever thought he could about how someone could escape the Academy and do anything but study. Shopkeepers, brothel masters, and barkeepers brought records of all the times Kyouraku was in their establishments. Guards brought logs of when Shunsui had left and when, if ever, he returned. All the teachers brought all their attendance records, test scores, and other evidence of the fact that Shunsui had in all practicality never attended.

On top of that, they brought in evidence of how Shunsui's disappearance affected the attitude and morale of the other students. Ryuu-sama brought forth Kenshin's assumption of how to interpret Shunsui's absence from his classes. Jyuushiro bit his lower lip while Ryuu-sama went on to describe Jyuushiro's actions to dissipate some of the effects.

There was a long period of silence after all the charges were brought forth.

Yamamoto-sama then roused himself, "Kyouraku-kun. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Shunsui's head was against the mat as if the weight of all those charges weighted him down physically. "No, sir. Nothing. I'm just as worthless as everyone says I am."

Yamamoto-sama's reiatsu flared. In that closed space it was a blow to the head. Jyuushiro whimpered in protest. He had no idea how Shunsui, who was the focus of that force could just kneel there, silent.

Suddenly the old man flowed over the table, like a flame jumping a fire break. He wrapped his fingers in Shunsui's hair, right at the scalp and pulled the young man's head up to look him in the eye. "That is not what this is about, young Shunsui. You are worthy of this academy. Of this work. Of this place. Regardless of what your father might have told you. Lack of your abilities leaves a hole in what we can do, what peace we can achieve. You need to take your place in it. What will it take for you to do that? Realize that? Your mother thought you would do well here, with your strengths, your sense of justice, and your deep desire to protect those that cannot protect themselves. Where did that go, young Shunsui? Why did you drown and bury all that for nothing?"

Jyuushiro, pressed flat against the tatami from the pure pressure of even the edge of that regard, watched as silver rivulets of tears started streaming down Shunsui's cheeks.

Shunsui shook and answered, "I... I don't know..."

"We failed you. Failed to discipline you as you needed to be, earlier. Failed to call you back, to make you know that you were missed. So we do what we can, now. We, as new teachers in a trying time are learning as well. You have done everyone in the academy wrong. What will you do to atone?"

Shunsui's breath wavered, his eyes closed, "I can atone?"

"Take a punishment that you feel fits your crime," said Yamamoto-sama, his gaze grim. "But remember, it needs to be such that you feel that you really have paid for what you have taken from us. Our time, our regard, what your fellow students could have learned from you and your strength. If you pay it you will feel as if you have given equal measure to what you took. It would be better if it was something everyone could see, could feel as if they were paid back for your disrespect of their efforts. You propose, we will approve if we deem it enough."

Shunsui said softly, "Pay. Money is nothing. It flows from my family like leaves off a tree."

"Then what?"

Shunsui's eyes opened and in their dark depths, Jyuushiro saw something ridiculously like hope. "Would... would pain do? And... and... time..."

"What kind of pain? What kind of time?"

"T...tw..." Shunsui's breath stuttered, "Twenty lashes from Yamamoto-sama in the public area."

Yamamoto-sama reared back. "Twenty? That is the punishment of man who maims others unto disability..." Then a slow rumble of thought. "It would certainly be memorable and do much to heal the sense of injustice the other students harbor. And the time?"

Shunsui's voice gained strength. "I will attend every class when I am healed, and help with mentoring in what classes I am able."

Yamamoto-sama turned to the other teachers, "Is this acceptable in your sight?"

Ryuu-sama eyes narrowed, "Twenty could maim him. I need him whole. I propose to make it fifteen, the same as a criminal who has both stolen from and hurt others who can be healed. I'll take as much time of his as I can get."

Kuchiki-sama laughed, "He's useless to me as he is. But the lashes would certainly tighten up some of the slack I'm seeing in some of the students who think less of my classes. I'll support Ryuu-san's propsal."

Shiba-sama sighed, "It seems awfully barbaric to me. But..." He watched Shunsui's face quietly. "I think Kyouraku-kun is determined and that's enough for me, if it can bring him back to actually study with us."

Yamamoto-sama's flare contracted and slowed. "Good, then." He gently loosed his grip on Shunsui's hair. Shunsui now kept his own head up, watching the old man. "Then let it be recorded that on the fifth day of the month of Shimotsuki Kyouraku Shunsui will be hung on the pillory and given fifteen lashes by myself for his crimes against the Academy, its students, teachers, and dependents."

Kuchiki-sama wrote the records down with a quick brush. "Now, what about Ukitake-kun?"

"What about Ukitake-kun?" asked Shunsui, startled, "Isn't he here as a witness against me?"

Jyuushiro flinched at that. He didn't want to do that. He...

"No," said Yamamoto-sama. "He is here as co-defendant."

"What?" said both young men in almost exactly the same voice.

Yamamoto-sama looked down at Jyuushiro, "Ukitake-kun, would you have let Haru-kun get away with what you let Shunsui-kun do?"

Jyuushiro reared up in protest, "But... but Kyouraku-kun's not my..." And suddenly, he got it. All those doubts, that unease he'd been feeling all along. His brother. This was like Shiba-kun but... oh gods, far more so. Jyuushiro glanced in Ryuu-sama's direction and this time the dark gaze gave him an encouraging nod. "Oh..."

"Leave him out of it!" shouted Shunsui, "I kept away from him, so I wouldn't get him in trouble. Kept my distance so I wouldn't smear him, too. He's good. He's not strong enough for..."

"And there is your mistake," said Yamamoto-sama. "I know Ukitake-kun is strong. And the stronger you are, the more responsibility you must take for your actions... and inactions. You have taken responsibility for what you have done. He needs to take his own. You are connected to this young man, no matter how much you try to push that connection away or belittle it."

"But I'm not belit..." Shunsui looked at Jyuushiro, really looked at him and Jyuushiro met Shunsui's eyes and Shunsui shut up.

Then Jyuushiro bowed down low to Shunsui in the attitude of apology, near abasement, "I apologize to you, Kyouraku-san, for abandoning you and stealing your one solid connection with the school." From his position, he saw Shunsui's bound hands tighten into fists.

Then he came up to bow to Yamamoto-sama as well, "Thank you for this chance, Yamamoto-sama. I think I'd like the equivalent of someone stealing someone else's livelihood, five lashes in addition to paying the person back."

"So... the repayment, Ukitake-kun, you will help him mend his relations with the rest of the school?"

"Yes, Yamamoto-sama."

"That is good then." Again, Yamamoto-sama turned to the other teachers, "What say you?"

Kuchiki-sama tsked, "This is madness. He's the best student I have at the moment. I don't understand this need to go to such extremes."

Shiba-sama nodded his head, "I have to disagree with this as well. I don't see the point to physically punishing a student who is doing so well simply because of an extremely weak association."

Jyuushiro shivered in protest, but these were his elders, his teachers and he had no great reasons he could say as to why he had to do this, either. He could only feel it in his gut, in his heart.

Ryuu-sama studied both young men quietly with his black eyes and his brow furrowed, "And that is why they should go through this together."

"What?" asked Shiba-sama.

"The problem is that the connection is too weak. Shunsui-kun has no reason not to go and destroy himself again if the only punishment metted is on himself. On the battlefield, this attitude is madness. When a fighter goes down, it's not just him that is destroyed, the order of the line is destroyed, the people on either side of him are endangered. I think he needs to learn that if he goes down, he drags others with him, intended or not."

Jyuushiro heard Shunsui's breath catch at the logic.

"Besides, if Ukitake-kun goes through with this he is going to make excellent officer material someday." The dry compliment rattled Jyuushiro like no accusation could. Ryuu-sama nodded. "So I say aye. Let it be done as the boy says."

"So... it is two for and two against, and you, Ukitake-kun, have the balance of the matter," said Yamamoto-sama.

"You mean, I could... I could just go free?" asked Jyuushiro, astonished.

"Would you be free if you did?" asked Ryuu-sama.

Jyuushiro closed his eyes, dizzy with the lure and possibility of just getting out of this whole mess. The pillory frightened him, this whole thought of going up in front of everyone and getting... humiliated, punished scared him in the heart of all he'd been. He'd always been the good one, the one that did what was asked of him, the one who was always right. He searched his heart and the image that came to him was of Shunsui going out the door that last time he'd seen him, his face closed. Letting him go alone again was far more frightening than the rest. And in realizing that, he felt a sense of peace.

Jyuushiro took a deep breath. "No. I wouldn't. I... I'll accept the pillory."

An enraged howl came snarling and ragged from Shunsui's throat, wordless protest, and his bound fists pounded into the mat. But he didn't say a thing. Then the fists loosened to just grasp at the edge of the mat and Shunsui broke down and sobbed.

Yamamoto-sama nodded and said precisely, "Then let it be recorded that on the fifth day of the month of Shimotsuki Ukitake Jyuushiro will be hung on the pillory and given five lashes by myself for his crimes against the Academy, its students, teachers, and dependents."


	4. Atonement

In the dark pre-dawn of the fifth day of the month of Shimotsuki, Ukitake Jyuushiro woke feeling more relief than anything else.

The last four days had been surreal. They allowed him to go back to the dorm from the military justice hall. They'd just shown him the door. He turned around at the door, went back in and asked if he could see Shunsui, to talk with him. But he'd been told that as a condemned criminal in collusion with Kyouraku-kun, he could not be allowed to see the prisoner until they were punished.

He asked that they at least tell Shunsui that he'd tried to see him, and they agreed to that. He'd tried, unlike before, and that was better than before.

So he'd gone back to the dorms, to his classes, and spent the next four days defending his punishment.

"That's just crazy! How can they punish you for what he did?" asked Kenshin.

"They're not. They're punishing me for what I didn't do." answered Jyuushiro, as he tried to put together a lightning spell that was being pretty grumpy about having to go together. "Remember when you asked me if I should have been taking care of my roommate?"

Kenshin blinked, "Oh. But he was the one that left you holding the bag. How were you supposed to do anything if he was never there?"

"It would have been simple enough to hunt him down through the bars. He left a big enough trail. I could have just knocked him down and gotten him back here or something..." Jyuushiro shrugged, "I never even tried."

"But..." Hoshiko sounded shaken, "But lashes... Jyuushiro-kun, that's a real single-tailed whip Yamamoto-sama is practicing with."

"Well, I'm grateful he decided to take four days, then, to get accurate again with it." said Jyuushiro far more calmly than he felt. But his feelings flashed into the lightning spell and it crackled and spat and lit some of his notes on fire.

Hoshiko said a quick water spell and put it all out, and the excitement wiped out the conversation, much to Jyuushiro's relief.

He found out, though, that she hadn't forgotten the conversation when she showed up at his room that night. He hadn't had the strength or the heart to turn her away. Their first kiss brought tears to his eyes, which she gently kissed away. The sex was sweet, a slow exploration; but simply sleeping with someone who really cared about him to hold him while he was so frightened had been a godsend. She was why he wasn't a complete wreck this morning.

Jyuushiro got dressed quietly in the older of his two academy uniforms. There was no need to get the new one stained or cut. He tucked his academy asauchi zanpakuto into his obi. It always went with him. He decided against eating or drinking, so as to not have any embarrassing bodily functions while under duress.

An hour before dawn there was the polite knock on his room's sliding door. He opened it to see the same two guards that had been in the hearing. They bowed to him. He bowed back and, without any words at all, they walked together out into the chill of the fall morning.

It was a beautiful morning. Clear and calm, cold enough that all the trees had turned into flame, brilliant reds, golds, oranges, all mixed with the last ghosts of green in the flutter of the leaves. Jyuushiro marveled at how beautiful the sky was with the dark and stars to the west, the sky that deep blue just before dawn above, and the eastern edge of the sky gradually grew clear white over a gaudy display of golds and reds at the horizon.

He breathed deep and walked to the commons area, the open area between all the dorms and the classrooms and practice areas. Two, simple, slender posts with a crossbar were set in the grounds. Jyuushiro was oddly glad that there weren't full stocks, somehow the slender restraints seemed to imply that they were here by choice rather than simply as criminals. The posts and bars faced each other, only feet apart from each other. Jyuushiro was surprised by that.

Shunsui came into the clearing with his guards at that moment, and his eyes got big at seeing the setup as well.

"I guess they really want us to go through this together," said Jyuushiro.

Shunsui only nodded, dark eyes hooded.

The guards courteously gave instructions on what to take off, where to stand, and they expertly lashed the young men's bare forearms to the crossbars. Zanpakuto were left hanging from obi. "Yamamoto-sama said to leave them strictly alone," noted the eldest guard.

Now that they were right up against them, Jyuushiro found that the crossbars were actually slightly curved. He wondered at that. The guards made sure the ropes snugged tight against muscles, keeping clear of elbows and wrists. They asked the young men to wiggle their fingers and after just letting them stand for a while, asked if anything was falling asleep.

"I think it's good." said Shunsui, testing the twist and play of the lines.

"Okay, then, we need to do the upper arms and try a hang test," said the eldest of the guards.

Jyuushiro found it awkward to get so close to the central pillar. They adjusted the crossbar, so it was exactly at his shoulder height and then lashed his upper arms to the cross bar as well. The curve allowed them to insure that his elbows weren't locked, but his arms were dead solid secure. They tested his circulation to make sure it was good.

"Now hang from it, just drop your knees and let your body weight go."

Jyuushiro did so, somewhat gingerly, and felt his shoulders take the strain of holding all his body weight. The muscles connected through his shoulders and chest pulled up against his lungs, and he coughed reflexively against getting his air restricted.

"Get back up. You're the one with lung problems, right?"

Jyuushiro nodded.

"We'll need to add a support strap, can't have you stop breathing if you faint."

"No," said Shunsui faintly from where the other two guards were fitting him to his frame, "We can't have that..." He looked haunted.

The younger guard slid a leather strap around Jyuushiro, it went under his shoulder blades. They pulled the ends to the front, under his underarms and lashed it around the pillar and crossbar. The older guard asked him to lean against the strap and go off his feet again. The slender strap supported a surprisingly large amount of his body weight.

"Good," said the elder guard.

"Isn't that going to get into Yamamoto-sama's way?" asked Jyuushiro. "It's covering part of my back."

"Ten thousand gods willing he should never get that high up." said the eldest guard. "If he misses by that much, we're in big trouble."

"Why?" asked Jyuushiro, honestly curious.

"Boy, you have more questions than a squirrel has nuts," grumped the young guard.

"No, he has a right to know," said the eldest guard. "Look... if the old man wraps any part of the last foot of that whip around you, that tip will, suddenly, be going twice as fast as he made it go. Wrapping does that. Do that up in the shoulder area and he'll cut tendon, nerves, and blood vessels. Do it around the ribs, and you're cut up but mostly okay. Do that down by your belly and we'll have someone trying to stuff your innards back in. Do that near your head and..." The old man just shook his head. "So the strap you have on is a good indicator, for him, of where stuff not to cut is."

"He's got a full six feet of whip to manage. That danger of really maiming you is such that we secure you so you can't move, even involuntarily, even if you faint, so he has a solid, steady target. Got it?"

Jyuushiro swallowed and nodded. "Uhm.. yeah, got it."

The old guard muttered, "I wish Yamamoto-sama would have trusted the public executioner to do this, we know he's got aim."

Jyuushiro shivered, "No... we're his responsibility, I think."

The old guard looked Jyuushiro in the eye, "Aye. I think you're right." Then the old man's eyes narrowed. "You fool. You didn't eat anything did you?"

"Uhm... no."

"What, you want to faint even before anything happens?"

"I... didn't..."

The old man rolled his eyes. "Go get some sweet tea, Goro-kun. NOW." The younger guard sprinted off towards the barracks. The old guard pulled Jyuushiro's kimono back up over his back, draping over his front to cover him.

To Jyuushiro's surprise the gentle touch of the old guard caused his body to shudder, great big waves of shuddering he couldn't stop, couldn't control. "I... I'm... I'm sorry," he said breathlessly.

The older man patted him on the shoulder absently. "It's normal. Dawn cold, fear and fasting, what a wild mix." Then, suddenly, "Woah." Everyone who could, stepped back.

Jyuushiro's reiatsu was up involuntarily, high and hard with all that emotion. Shunsui's eyes got big as he was engulfed in that field of power, and his went up as well.

There was nearly a moan of awe from the few that were present.

Jyuushiro was blasted by regret, a chattering, bone throwing regret of lost opportunities, lost dust, lost lives, lost... so lost... He nearly drowned in that, until his own power flared again in response, in protection, and the waves of the sea, of his childhood came in regular, deep, unending. He'd loved swimming in the sea. He never feared drowning from waters outside his lungs. With the waves of his memories surrounding, buoying him up, he could breathe. He took a deep breath, another, and then managed to pull his reiatsu back in.

Shunsui's flare flickered and then went out with a gasp from him. He slumped and then looked up at Jyuushiro, and, for the first time, a grin flickered on his mobile mouth. "You are strong."

"You two are going to be the death of me," muttered the old guard. The young guard who had brought the tea had hung back at the display, the old guard just took a mug from him. "You, give the big one a drink. I'll handle this one... people are going to be coming soon, we've got to get this setup finished and get off the stage."

It was awkward being fed hot, sweet tea by someone else, but the warmth and energy were so welcome, Jyuushiro just did what he could to swallow as much of it as he could get into his mouth. He felt the involuntary shivering in his body slow and then melt from his limbs. He took a big breath and was able to let it out slowly. "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, kid. You'll do fine. I hadn't thought of it before, but I guess it would have to be Yamamoto-sama to get a whip through that reiatsu of yours..." The old guard shook his head. "Times they do change." He gently pulled the kimono back down again around Jyuushiro's waist.

"All right, we're set. Tell the classes they can start coming in, now." The other guards ran off in various directions. The old guard sat seiza between them. "I guess it's show time."

* * *

The yards around them filled. The presence of the guard kept everyone well away from the pillories. The classes filed in and knelt in neat rows across the grass. 

Jyuushiro felt exposed, more helpless than he'd been in all his remembered life. He could hear the whispering, the giggling, and even the sighing and a hint of outrage in some of the voices that talked about him. About them.

"Are you regretting your decision?" murmured Shunsui from where he hung. "Regretting being here?"

Jyuushiro blinked at the question, taken aback. He glanced at the old guard, who looked more like a statue than a living being. It almost looked like he wasn't breathing. He looked back at Shunsui. "No. I don't regret that in the least. I'm scared. I hate being wrong. I hate... getting it wrong, but if I don't acknowledge that I did wrong I'm not going to learn how to do it right, am I?"

Shunsui frowned, "You really didn't do wrong by me, you know?"

"I don't know that. I do know that I didn't do right by you, Kyouraku-kun. Now, I'm trying."

"A hell of a way to try. Getting hung up and beaten."

Jyuushiro wrinkled his nose. "Well.. getting hung up and beaten so that everyone knows that if they don't support you the way I should have that they might get the same."

"Uh..." it almost sounded more like a body blow than a grunt.

"I've been beaten up in fights before. There's one good thing about it with the way I look..."

A blink from those dark eyes. "What..."

"There's no end to the girls who come by to give you sympathy afterward."

Shunsui looked shocked. And then, to Jyuushiro's delight, Shunsui started laughing, a big belly laugh that there was no faking, and in the wake of that laugh, Jyuushiro found himself laughing as well. It went down in school legend for the next century that Ukitake-kun and Kyouraku-kun had actually laughed while hung on their pillories.

Jyuushiro suddenly realized that the whole yard had gone completely silent. He bit his lip and saw just the hint, the barest hint of a grin on the old guard... and then Yamamoto's presence flowed into the courtyard and all heads turned towards him.

* * *

Yamamoto used his cane to make his slow way to the central cleared area where the two young men were secured. 

Once he was in the center, before all the student, he banged his staff on the ground three times. Jyuushiro could hear the birds singing in the distance, everyone was so quiet.

"Shinio Reijutsa Academy teachers and students. You are here this morning as witnesses. Kyouraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jyuushiro are here voluntarily to take a punishment that has no means of being mitigated. It will be fierce and direct." There was a soft murmur in the ranks. "Since they chose to accept this punishment, this sentence will not be recorded in the school records. Therefore you need to record their payment on your hearts."

"In essence, the punishment of Kyouraku-kun is in regret for his disrespect of all of you. His dereliction of classes, of his duties, of taking his turns at both learning and teaching. This is his acknowledgment of his wrongs. Take note. If you deem his suffering to be enough, then lose any resentment you have had of him."

"The punishment of Ukitake-kun is his acknowledgment that he failed Kyouraku-kun in his duties to and support for a fellow student and a fellow shinigami. Understand, that by accepting this sentence, he sets an example to you all of how you should support one another."

"I also acknowledge that I have failed you both to this point." The crowd murmured in shock. "I did not pay attention soon enough. I allowed this rampant disregard to continue for too long." The bald old man with the impossibly long beard bowed to the two young men. "I apologize to you." He held the moment, let it sink in and then straightened again. "My punishment is to inflict pain on two strong, bright, good young men whom I would have been proud to call sons. I will do my best."

Yamamoto threw off his kimono and revealed a body thick with muscle under wrinkled skin. Scars crissed and crossed the knotted body, some still thick and red and purple from recent healing. His staff banged once more on the ground, and Yamamoto's reiatsu stretched itself out, slow and lazy, a warming campfire rather than the angry conflagration of his temper. As his power stretched out, so did the old man. He limbered and stood straight, tall, and powerful. His cane scattered, returned as his zanpakuto, wreathed in slow, flickering flames. He put it, point first into the ground, standing until his return.

Ryuu approached him with a long black whip coiled like a snake along his forearm.

Yamamoto took the whip in his right hand and uncoiled it with a hiss. He walked right up to Jyuushiro's back and then took deliberate paces away from him, measuring the distance. Then he took his stance.

"Are you prepared, Ukitake-kun?"

"Yes, sir."

"The mouthpiece, guard?"

The old guard got up and showed Jyuushiro a short length of new, clean pine dowel. "Here... between your teeth than you can't bite anything you shouldn't."

Jyuushiro opened his mouth to accept the dowel. It was hard to swallow around it, but...

The first stroke hissed through the air and then landed. Jyuushiro felt himself jerk against his bindings as the force of it took his breath away. The pain was... he was surprised to find that he could easily handle the pain. It was just a hard, hot blow against his back.

The crowd seemed to groan for him, the gasps and moans rising like the sound of rain on the sea. Jyuushiro could see the muscles in Shunsui's arms rising, tightening, eyes wide, watching. Jyuushiro gave him a small nod.

And then the second blow hissed and fell across the first. Again the shock of the blow, but this time, the pain built up from the steps of the first blow. Yamamato must have crossed the first stripe with the second as both areas now burned, hard and hot. Jyuushiro heard himself whimper against the dowel, and his arms started shivering.

Shunsui looked like he was trying to levitate off the pillory to come to him. Jyuushiro shook his head at Shunsui, trying to reassure him, and then set himself for the next blow.

At exactly the same interval as between the first two, the third one fell. Jyuushiro was expecting it, but how the pain stepped up again as all three stripes burned surprised him. His control cracked and he cried out, tears starting to run down his face. His reiatsu flared, against his efforts, and he felt rather than saw Shunsui's flare as well. The crowd roared louder, more like surf against the beach, and while the pain runneled and flared, he caught glimpses of silver flashing and diving on some other...

The fourth blow came, as regular as the others, though now it smelled of fire, of old ashes. It cut through their combined reiatsu like fire through paper, and hit across the other strokes hard enough to get a real scream from Jyuushiro and the world just narrowed down for him to just the pain, just his body, and... and... something whirled in the depths of his mind. He tried to follow it, follow them...

... when the last blow hit. He heard himself scream with it as if from a distance. And suddenly he was dropped into an ocean, a warm ocean, with swells taller than he could see over. He floated on the surface, riding the swells easily, as the water buoyed him up. Thunderclouds gathered to his right, as black and ominous as the sea was blue, deep and serene to his left. Suddenly, in the water around him, two seven foot long blue fin tuna sped to him, around him, leaping and flashing. They were shaped identically, powerful torpedoes of muscle, but one was as dark as deep water, the other silver and as bright as dawn.

The dark one said, "You are hurt." It said it in a tone of self-reproach remarkably like Shunsui's tones.

"I am," said Jyuushiro.

"But was it just?" asked the silver fish, with a sidelong glance at him, at the other fish.

Jyuushiro thought about it because it seemed important to give an honest answer. "Yes. I think it was for a just cause."

"Ah, good," said the silver fish.

Then the two giant, muscular fish leaped away in an arch of beauty that closed on Jyuushiro's heart...

... and then he fell back into his battered, screaming body.

His reiatsu collapsed about him. He spat the dowel out, and tried to take slow, deep, long breaths, as much to calm his breathing as anything. The pain still half blinded him.

"Jyuushiro, you're..." said Shunsui's voice.

Jyuushiro looked up and everything blurred before him. But he gasped out, between pants that he tried desperately to calm, "I... I... I'm... still... here... Shunsui."

"You are, aren't you?" said Shunsui in a queer sort of tone.

Then Yamamoto moved to stand behind Shunsui and asked, "Are you ready, Kyouraku-kun?"

"Yes, sir."

The guard had a different dowel for Shunsui. Shunsui looked so astonishingly vulnerable with it in his mouth that Jyuushiro almost couldn't watch. Jyuushiro twisted a little in his bonds at thinking of what he must have looked like as well. The tearing and trickles along the burning mass of pain on his back as he stretched whispered that it was a little late to worry about appearances.

Shunsui took the strokes well, better than Jyuushiro had. He seemed to relax into them. Eyes closing, muscles flexing with the momentum of the blows. He didn't even make any sounds until into the eighth stripe, and then it was just low moans until the twelfth and his reiatsu flared again.

Jyuushiro tried something he had never done before, and wasn't even sure was possible. Instead of deflecting that black intensity of despair that radiated from Shunsui, he tried to raise his reiatsu to accept it, to embrace it. He wanted, madly, to let Shunsui know that he was still there, still by him. Shunsui's reiatsu flare during his beating had made him aware of the other man's presence even through the pain, now he wondered if he could do the same.

Having no idea of what he was doing, Jyuushiro reached out with his power and will. Shunsui's eyes shot open when it touched him. His body bucked and then tears started streaming from his eyes. Startled by the reaction, Jyuushiro tried to pull back. When the edge of his power left Shunsui, he saw Shunsui frantically shake his head. Shunsui got out, "Nn... pleez..." from around the dowel.

The thirteenth stroke took Shunsui right at that moment.

Shunsui's scream of despair so unnerved Jyuushiro, he pushed more power than he should have into reaching out again, surrounding Shunsui again. The other man continued to cry, but there was something different in his attitude. It reflected itself in Shunsui's reiatsu which stayed powerful, but seemed to lighten, relax, as if it leaned into Jyuushiro's. It leaned against him as he had, not that long ago, leaned against Shunsui.

All the resentment that had built, all the niggling angers, jealousies, and doubts of the last two months that Jyuushiro had felt towards the one leaning so intimately against his spirit were cut cleanly away by the last two strokes of fire Yamamoto-sama dealt the two of them, together. Shunsui still cried out with each of the strokes, but it was just the cries his body gave at the power of the blows. No longer was there that maelstrom of lostness that had threatened to swallow Jyuushiro earlier, and which, Jyuushiro now knew, had for too long held Shunsui in its dark grip.

And when the last two strokes were done, Jyuushiro finally relaxed his grip on his reiatsu and his consciousness and passed out.

* * *

**Postlude

* * *

**  
The classes filed away neatly as the guards cut the two young men down from their restraints. 

Yamamoto watched the medical staff load them into stretchers. The older guard watched with him.

"They'll recover just fine, Yamamoto-sama," the old guard noted. "Your accuracy was remarkable. As always."

Yamamoto sighed, "Thank you, Daisuke-san, for your help." Daisuke picked up Yamamoto's discarded kimonos and Yamamoto allowed them to be slipped them back over his gnarled shoulders. Yamamoto walked over to his blazing zanpakuto and pulled it from the ground -- uncharacteristically, with his left hand. It doused itself, and returned to being a walking stick as gnarled and beaten as it's owner.

"You are very welcome, sir." A hesitation and then, "And if I may say so, they are very welcome to the help I could provide as well. They are rather..."

Yamamoto gave a chuckle that sounded more like a cough at the second hesitation.

"... remarkable young men."

"The death of you, hm?" noted Yamamoto.

Daisuke looked taken aback.

"It was the flare. I felt it and wondered what happened. So I saw and heard." The now bent old man looked pensive, "But I understand the feeling." He looked at his knotted right hand.

"You'd better have the medics look at that, sir."

The old man was the one who hesitated this time.

"No, sir," the guard continued in a level tone, "you need to have them treat that now."

Yamamoto sighed. His right hand was a blistered mess, broken blisters vied with charred flesh to cover his palm and fingers. "Channeling fire through the soul energy of something other than Ryujin Jakka, even with his help, is a pain."

"Literally, it seems."

Yamamoto nodded. "But it was worth the doing."

The old guard, who had once been Captain Yamamoto's young sergeant on battlefields older than memory, heard the question no one else would have. "It was worth doing, sir. Painful as it is, it's better than seeing them bleed themselves out on the field later for the lack of it."

"Aye." Yamamoto took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, "That it is." He then nodded his thanks and walked with the medics back to the treatment wards.


	5. Under Wing

Jyuushiro awoke in the infirmary.

It was a familiar place, so when he opened his eyes he relaxed back into the warmth of the futon and studied his surroundings quietly.

It was dark out, the paper walls showed no daylight. When he closed his eyes again, he could hear, faintly, the chirping of crickets and the whisper of the wind.

He wondered mildly what had woken him. It had felt comfortably familiar, like the gentle bumping of a child against his side. A child making sure he was still there, while they were sleeping or dreaming or just needing reassurance. But surely not in here?

Then he felt it again. Almost shy, like a child watching him by the bed, not wanting to wake him up but... needing something. That need underlying the not-touch made him open his eyes, half expecting little Haru to just be kneeling by his futon, staring at him.

Nothing. No one.

Just the breathing of Shunsui as he slept in his infirmary futon a few feet away. He was shifting in his sleep, moaning under his breath. A nightmare?

Jyuushiro tried to go back to sleep. The touch came again, and this time he realized that it was Shunsui's reiatsu, fanning out, as thin as a thread, but still... reaching out to touch him even while Shunsui slept.

He wasn't going to get much more sleep this way.

Jyuushiro thought about it as he felt that tentative hope for reassurance brush once, twice more, gently against his resting reiatsu. It felt like a stray cat brushing against a leg and then leaping away in fear of getting kicked.

Jyuushiro groaned softly as he threw back the quilt and slowly levered himself up out of the futon. Slowly, painfully sore, he pushed his futon so that it lay right next to Shunsui's. He flopped back into the futon and lay on his front and struggled a bit with the quilt until he managed to get it back over his shoulders. His back protested every damned twist and turn. He shivered with the pain and the cold of being out of bed, until he warmed everything back up. Then he relaxed and studied the sleeping Shunsui on how best...

Ah... the reach happened again. When it found him so close it seemed to curl back on itself and then fluttered close again. Shunsui was also lying on his front, no surprise that, and his right hand had curled around the edge of his futon. Jyuushiro studied that hand for a moment and then gently wrapped his left hand around it.

The reaching reiatsu flowed and then quietly synced with his, and Shunsui sighed in his sleep and relaxed. Jyuushiro smiled and relaxed back into the warmth and comfort of his bed.

He fell back asleep.

* * *

Jyuushiro woke again when light had touched the paper walls of the infirmary. Before he even opened his eyes, he knew that he would see Shunsui watching him quietly. He kept hold of Shunsui's hand, even so. 

He opened his eyes and saw the quiet regard. Shunsui looked back and then said softly, "So that's why."

Sleepily Jyuushiro asked, "Why what?"

Shunsui thought a moment and winced as he tried to give a small shrug. His voice turned light, careless, "There's a recurring dream I have had ever since I was a kid. It was always the same, you know? Just a childhood nightmare... where my dad would wrap me in funeral cloths, throw me in a coffin, and then bury me alive. I'd always just wait for him to dig me back up, and after a while I'd start screaming and trying to get free of the cloths. I'd get partially free, but just enough to bang on the wooden lid of the coffin. Get splinters in my hands... break a few bones. And I'd hear nothing. No one. Then the air would turn bad, and I just couldn't resign myself to dying... until the very end. And when I blacked out in the dream I'd wake up... usually tangled up in my covers."

Jyuushiro watched Shunsui's impassive face and listened.

Shunsui cocked a crooked grin, "It was different this time, though... Dad threw red hot coals into the bottom of the coffin, first. Then laid me, bound, on them." A rough laugh, "I guess the stripes made an impression even on my dreams. And when the air got bad, and I started to cough... well... I thought of you. Of how you fight to breathe even when your body won't let you." Shunsui took a slow breath. "So, in my dream, instead of shouting for my dad, I shouted for you. For you to save me, help me... something... I had no reason to think you could hear me through six feet of dirt. Nothing at all to base a hope on. But I just started calling your name."

Shunsui's light voice turned wondering. "And you came... you came calling my name. I heard your shovel biting into the dirt. I heard you swearing the whole time as you figured out where I was. When you hit the lid of the coffin, instead of trying to clear the whole lid to get me out, you did the smart thing and just shoved the edge of the shovel through the lid so that I could get air. But the air hit the coals, too, and they went up in flames. That's when I knew I was going to die anyway and gave up, resigned myself to the fire.

"But somehow you reached into the flames for me, to get me out, but my arms, my hands were still bound. Weirdly, I was feeling like I should be dead, you should have left me to my resignation to dying, not gotten yourself hurt by reaching into the flames. But you didn't wait for me to take your hand, you just grabbed me, grabbing flame and coals as well, somehow yanked me out of the agony of the burning and we were standing up top in a summer field of flowers under a night sky bright with stars.

"The burnt funeral clothes fluttered in the wind, still smoldering... my body had burned as well, and there was white bone and charred flesh, but I was standing. The burned cloths freed my hands, so you took my right hand in your left. You looked up at me and gently scolded me, 'Shunsui, you've made a mess of yourself.' You used your right hand and laid the flesh back onto my bones, smoothed my skin back on, and healed me of my wounds. And then..."

Shunsui's voice turned light again, half mocking, "... you laid your mouth on mine and breathed the life back into me. You ripped the last rags of the funeral clothes off me, laid me down on that field, under those astonishing stars, and you made me remember why it could be good to be alive."

Jyuushiro couldn't help it. He blinked at that. "Made you?"

The mockery in the voice turned into a curl of a smile on Shunsui's mobile lips, "Made me, and I was suitably grateful." He said it with a carelessness that made Jyuushiro blink again and blush at all the implications.

Jyuushiro frowned and thought a moment. Shunsui tried to take advantage of the lack of attention to pull his hand back. Jyuushiro let him pull it closer to himself, but Jyuushiro kept hold of it, letting his arm move onto Shunsui's futon. Then, despite his back screaming at him, Jyuushiro followed his hand... pulled himself up on his elbows and got right up close to Shunsui's face.

"Do you always make light of what's important to you?" Jyuushiro asked softly. His eyes searched Shunsui's, which, at the words, widened in surprise.

Then, on impulse, Jyuushiro leaned in closer and captured Shunsui's lips with his own. He heard and felt Shunsui's startled, almost shuddering, intake of breath. Jyuushiro pressed his advantage and kissed Shunsui hard and Shunsui melted, his breath out had the faintest vibrations of a moan and Jyuushiro breathed that moan in.

Of course, that's when they both heard the door open to the hallway of the infirmary. Jyuushiro swore softly and then swore harder at the pain as he got up out of his bed and pushed the damned futon back to where it used to be. He'd learned from the last time, so he slid into bed, pulled the covers up, and then rolled to his front. The heat of pain in his back made rolling onto his front a lot less uncomfortable than it might have been.

"Well," he said in a savage whisper, "it's not like we were in any shape to go anywhere with that anyway..."

He only got a chuckle and when he looked, Shunsui looked nothing more than sleepy, lazy, and still the recovering invalid. Jyuushiro knew he had a flaming blush, he cursed his light complexion, and he put his face into his pillow to try and cool it.

Then, as softly said as a cherry blossom laid on the wind, "Thank you, Jyuushiro. Thank you very much."

And the medical crew rolled in.

* * *

**References **

So the reiatsu stuff came, in part, from chunks of livejournal's calmingeffects "Save My Soul" and Darth Ammonite's "Smoke and Flowers" (also published on FanFiction). In both stories Ukitake and/or Kyouraku use reiatsu to track someone and their internal states. I figured if they were on equal terms, they might be able to track back as well.


	6. In the Infirmary

"Heya, Ukitake-kun, Kyouraku-kun," said a fresh-faced Nakamura Kiyoko with a soft drawl. She wore her zanpakuto even in the wards. She was the leader of one of the three medical teams at the Academy, and everyone met her at some time or another with their practice field injuries.

"Good morning, Nakamura-san," said both the young men.

Rolling after her were two carts and six other medical personnel.

She took four of them over to Shunsui. They laid back the quilt and sheets, and examined Shunsui's back. Jyuushiro heard a sharp intake of breath from Shunsui as one of their classmates, Sato Saburou, laid his hands over the green and purple bruised, cut, and swelling-ridged skin. Kiyoko said softly, "Gently, now... like we practiced..."

Saburou concentrated, brow furrowing and brought up his reiatsu slowly, focused on just the area of Shunsui's back. Shunsui groaned softly, muscles playing across his back. Saburo was able to hold the glow there for a good five minutes before he let it up, sweating and breathing hard. Shunsui was sweating, too.

"Atta boy, Sato-kun. So, y'all see what you're supposed ta do?" The other three nodded. Kiyoko eyed Shunsui. She reached over and took his pulse and thought a moment, "Just two rounds ta start, and we'll see how y'all hold up."

Kiyoko turned her attention to Jyuushiro. "Now you."

The air was cold when she peeled back the warm quilt. Jyuushiro shivered.

"Wimp," Kiyoko said half laughing, "Warning ya, my hands are cold."

Jyuushiro laughed, "They always are." Her hands were like ice against the heat of the bruises and burning of his back, he couldn't help gasping at that. "But it feels good this time."

She tsked softly, "Stupid boy."

"What?" Jyuushiro blinked.

"Gettin' beaten this way, 'steada honest battle wounds," she said, dryly.

He shook his head, "Maybe a different kind of battle," he said before he thought not to.

Kiyoko's head tilted, and she looked at his face. "Mmmm..." she nodded. "I'll take yer word for it. Okay. I'm comin' attcha."

And with just that much warning, Jyuushiro felt the rise of Kiyoko's considerable reiatsu spread across his torn and aching back. It felt like when he was running or fighting, when his body was pumping at full capacity, and everything was flowing smooth and high and light. His heart beat faster, his breathing quickened, and he could feel his blood being pushed through his back, though the wounded areas, accelerating everything into the site, pulling the wastes, the broken things out of the area.

He fought to form words between pants. "You're... feeding me... after... right?"

"Don't I always take care'a you, after?" She didn't even sound strained. And she lasted a full fifteen minutes before she finally pulled back. "Ha... Well... after these two are done with ya. Gotta lotta residues still in there we kin just pull out even without too much energy from you."

Her now warm fingers pressed gently against Jyuushiro's throat, measuring his roaring pulse. "Yeah... just the one round for you, don' wanna trigger anythin' 'til we wanna test sample."

"Ah," said Jyuushiro and sighed, "Time to do that again?"

"Yeah. Oughta take 'vantage of you bein' here anyway." Kiyoko smoothed Jyuushiro's hair with a gentle hand. "Sorry. Parta the package."

He nodded, "I know. I just..." He shook his head, "Never mind. It must be done."

"Coupla hours after breakfast, I think, after visits."

Jyuushiro grinned, "Thank you." He endured the other two treatments and concentrated on just keeping his breathing as even as possible and got through it without a problem.

Breakfast was reward enough for the effort. Grilled red sea bream, crisped along the edges, the flesh tender and sweet against the salt of the miso rubbed on it for flavor, made Jyuushiro's eyes close at the first crisp bite. The miso soup was rich and salty and hot enough to sooth his lungs and the raw back of his throat with its gentle steam. Jyuushiro ate the lightly poached egg over his rice, letting the rich yolk coat everything so that he could enjoy all of it, the sharpness of the various types of pickles lending a tang to everything. He asked for thirds of the rice and got a smile and an extra poached egg from Kiyoko.

"You're fun ta cook fer, Ukitake-kun, you always appreciate it so much."

Jyuushiro blushed even as he broke the egg over his rice, "Well... I guess I'm always hungry."

After breakfast was visiting time.

Hoshiko and Rina led the charge, and suddenly what had seemed like a huge infirmary room was made small by a dozen giggling women crowding into the room.

Baskets of sweets appeared. Manju buns, dorayaki pancakes, soft mochi, dozens of the fish-shaped taiyaki, and even a beautifully arranged bowl of daifuku which Hoshiko triumphantly handed Jyuushiro.

"Where did you find peaches this late?" asked Jyuushiro, marveling at the jewel-colored fruit amid the quivering white gelatin.

Hoshiko blushed. "My uncle kept a few in his ice house from late summer... and I knew you'd love them."

"I do, very much so." Jyuushiro happily ate the whole contents of the bowl. "Thank you, very much."

Shunsui's futon was surrounded by all the other women, whom he was cheerfully complimenting. Jyuushiro saw Shunsui's large hands lightly stroking a nearby hip, bringing up a chin, brushing a blushing nose, or gesturing to expand on an innuendo that had half the girls gasping and the other half blushing. Then the whole group of them laughed uproariously at something Shunsui said.

"Do you envy him?" murmured Hoshiko into his ear. Jyuushiro blinked and thought about it.

"No. I can't... imagine... juggling that many hearts without fear of breaking them all," he said very softly.

Hoshiko kissed Jyuushiro, surprising him. Some of the women around Shunsui gasped at the boldness of Hoshiko.

Shunsui pouted, "What? Why am I not allowed such honeysuckle lips, soft as flower petals, spread and warm..." He made puppy dog eyes at the women around him, "May I have one, too, please?"

Rina laughed and leaned in and kissed Shunsui thoroughly. Shunsui cheerfully pulled her closer and continued the kiss until everyone in the room was blushing. Jyuushiro noted, though, that as soon as Rina made a motion to break the kiss, Shunsui did so, gracefully setting her back up.

"Oh!" said Rina, blushing happily, "We also brought your school assignments!"

Both young men groaned to the laughter of all the women.

"Kuchiki-sama said that if you were going to just lie around you might as well write those history of kido essays and spell projects you didn't turn in at all, Shunsui." Rina said, grinning, "And we're here to help explain all the assignments to you!"

There was a cheer from all the women and Jyuushiro couldn't help but feel a _little _sorry for Shunsui as the tide of feminine helpfulness closed over his roommate's head.

* * *

After finding out that Jyuushiro had made serious inroads on the treats basket during the impromptu group study session, Kiyoko decided to go on with another healing session and then lunch. "While you have the energy," she said rather ominously. 

Again, Shunsui managed two rounds of his four medics to Jyuushiro's one with his three. Jyuushiro inhaled his lunch, so hungry and tired he wasn't nearly as keyed into what his food was as he had been at breakfast. His eyelids got really heavy after the meal.

Kiyoko pointed at his futon. "Sleep." She flipped a hand at Shunsui as well, "You too. Now."

They didn't argue at all, just rolled into their beds, and the world faded.

When Jyuushiro woke, the sunlight was the gold of late afternoon, slanting through the paper walls. He sighed softly.

"'Wake?" asked Kiyoko's voice softly, from where she sat by one of the walls.

"Yes," Jyuushiro said, watching the ceiling.

"Ready?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be," he answered reluctantly.

"You want I should leave like usual?" she drawled, laconically.

Jyuushiro got up, "Yes, please." He was glad the room was warmer now than in the morning.

Kiyoko cleared a mat from the polished wooden floor. She produced a porcelain bowl. "In here, if you please. I'll wait in the hallway." She placed a small bamboo tube by the bowl.

In just his loincloth, Jyuushiro quietly knelt close to one edge of the bared floor. If it got messy, this would be easiest to clean. He picked up the bowl in his right hand, and the tube in his left. He took a slow, shivering, deep breath. He then gently pushed all the breath from his lungs, put the tube to his lips, and breathed a tiny bit of powder deep into his lungs.

He dropped the tube and put both hands around the bowl to keep it safe -- he'd smashed one before -- and then started coughing. Small coughs built into bigger ones, until he was racked with them. Then the blood started to come, blocking his breath, almost choking him as he felt the liquid heat of it flow up through his chest. He had enough control to get the bowl into place and caught the splatters of red in the white, pure bowl. He kept coughing, and soon another something burst and he had to do that weird fight against gagging and trying to breath while bringing up the thick heat and sour salt of his own blood. He fought to calm the coughing. He held the sample, crouched over it to protect it as his body rocked with coughing

A feeling touched him. Familiar. It was safety, his gut told him. He couldn't see, couldn't know which way to go... so he risked loosening his death grip on the bowl with the hand nearest the touch. He grabbed at it, tried to pull it around him, as he still coughed.

Strong, warm arms wrapped around his chest and shoulders and pulled him gently up and back against warm skin, hard muscle, into a cross-legged lap. Jyuushiro didn't give a damn about the quick sear of pain in his back as he turned into the warmth, now cradling the bowl with both hands again... and both arms gathered him in, tucked him under a chin, against a slow, steady pulse and the steady, deep sound of someone else's breathing. He relaxed into the embrace, trying to slow his body to slow the coughing, trying to match his own breathing to that slower pace. Big hands stroked his hair, his face, his upper arms and low back, and when he had some air he whimpered just a little at how good that felt.

He heard the door slide open. The body next to his stiffened just a bit, but then relaxed again. He heard Shunsui's voice against his ear, deep in the chest supporting him, "Ah. Good afternoon, Nakamura-san."

There was satisfaction in her voice when she answered. "Ah good... afternoon, Kyouraku-kun. Thank you for takin' care of the stubborn bastard."

Shunsui's chin rubbed gently against Jyuushiro's hair, "He is that, isn't he?" Then a pause, "What _is _this for?"

Jyuushiro opened his mouth and was coughing again as he tried to breathe in to say something. His wheezing now was bad enough to trigger coughs with a simple breath through the mouth. So he stopped trying to say anything, but opened his eyes to see where Kiyoko was. She was kneeling right in front of him, hands open for the bowl. He handed it over.

Kiyoko looked Jyuushiro in the eye, "You want I should tell him?"

Jyuushiro nodded.

"I'm gonna deliver this, first. Tests won't wait on a story, but I'll be right back. Don't wanna waste yer efforts. All right?" she said.

Jyuushiro nodded and closed his eyes.

"Here's a wet cloth, Kyouraku-kun, clean the botha you up while I'm gone." The door slid open, and footsteps tapped quickly away.

Shunsui rubbed the warm, wet, rough cloth against Jyuushiro's face, chin, and throat. He stopped when Jyuushiro had to cough some more, but, thankfully, held the cloth to Jyuushiro's mouth when he brought up just a bit more phlegm and blood. Shunsui carefully folded the blood deeper into the cloth before wiping Jyuushiro's mouth again. Then Jyuushiro felt Shunsui use the towel on his hands, rubbing gently against fingers, the webs between fingers and thumb, and palms before setting it to the side.

Jyuushiro tiredly rubbed his face lightly against Shunsui's throat, and just concentrated on the deep, regular breathing under his ear as his own body shook with short, fast, shallow breaths through his nose. Shunsui's hands gently stroked his hair. Shunsui leaned away for just a bit. He pulled over a quilt, which he wrapped carefully around the two of them.

The door slid open again, "So cute, you two." Kiyoko's voice was bemused.

Jyuushiro felt Shunsui shrug and wince at the shrug. He heard the thump of Kiyoko's knees as she knelt before them.

"Anyway... hmmm... where ta start? Ukitake-kun caught tuberculosis as a kid. Exposure to someone that was actively infectious. A crime, really, but he had it, or it had him. So long as it's an active infection, it's infectious. So when he was given the invite to the Academy, Yamamoto-sama made it conditional on gettin' the active infection burnt outta him to keep everyone else safe."

"Burnt out?" asked Kyouraku, "You can do that?"

"Dunno, actually. Theoretically, since he was extra hot and heavy in the reiatsu department, we could boost his body's ability ta fight the thing. Like yer backs but multiply. Side effect was his own body burnin' itself while fightin' the live infection. Burnt part of his lungs so's they're real sensitive nowadays, burnt his endurance and strength, burnt his hair white." Jyuushiro felt a gentle touch on his short hair. "Lung scarrin's such that he's likely to get attacks fairly frequently, maybe the resta his life, and scars'll tear to bleed. But it's possible we cleared the live infection."

"It's also possible we didn't. So's to make sure, we're takin' samples every season of the burst contents of the pockets in his lungs. Test 'em to see if they're live or dead. If any of 'em are live, out he goes with the bathwater. So far, they're dead as nails. We'll be culturing this one for the days you boys are here, wanted ta get the sample early so's he could get out free and clear when your backs are baked."

"So not only could he have lost the peak of his physical abilities, but he could also get kicked out for something he can't control?" Shunsui asked in a tone so light Jyuushiro tensed. Shunsui's arms tightened just a bit around him.

"Pretty much. Sucks, don't it?" said Kiyoko just as cheerfully.

Jyuushiro was actually glad, for the first time in a long while, that he couldn't say a thing.

Shunsui dropped his chin onto Jyuushiro's hair, gave Jyuushiro a very gentle shake, and whispered, "Do you always try to save everyone else at such heavy costs to yourself?"

Jyuushiro blinked, startled, "Maybe..." he said, coughed a few more times, and was warmed by the chuckle that rumbled through the chest next to him.

"Oy... lemme go get some o' that cough syrup for you, Ukitake-kun. Might put you backta sleep, but that might be best." Kiyoko got up.

"Nakamura-san..." Shunsui hesitated, "Thank you, very much."

Kiyoko rolled her eyes, "Don't thank me, it's _his _story ta give or not. Thank him properly..." she grinned a wicked grin, "... but not until he can breathe again, right?"

Again that warming rumble as Shunsui said, "Right."

That night, drugged and exhausted, Jyuushiro was glad it was Shunsui that dragged his futon over and wrapped himself quietly around the slighter man. Together they slept the sleep of the deserving.

* * *

**References and Thank Yous**

Wikipedia's article on a Pulmonary Tuberculosis was my biggest reference. Most fic writers just say Jyuushiro is not infectious, but given that there's a twenty percent likelihood of anyone even exposed to a single bacterium to actually get infected, I thought Yamamoto would do his best to make sure. Genevieve Cogman came up with the idea on how to get from here to there... so thank you, very much.

I also assumed that if various technological experiments could be done before Yamamoto's memory (admittedly, the Bounto arc was filler, but..), that there would be labs and experimental abilities even now. I figure even bacterium give a different spirit energy than people, so they might be more aware of what's going on than regular human beings could be at that time.

Finally, I should probably have put this at the first chapter, but this whole story would be entirely impossible without Genevieve, who helped me with the original ideas, critiques all the ideas, and has done an editor's work on every piece. There's still more to come, but I wanted to thank her, now, for how much she helped create this story.


	7. Confrontation

The next few days in the infirmary reflected the first, pretty much. The staff opted to stop the back treatments on Jyuushiro on the second day, but then went ahead on the third: lightly, to make sure he could breathe well enough.

For the study sessions Hoshiko brought a quiet Akemi and talkative Mei to have a few more folks studying with Jyuushiro. The large group grew boisterous, and soon the women were circulating in one big group around both the young men. Jyuushiro cheerfully accepted the pats on the head, and the sisterly hugs. Shunsui went just that much too far and got slapped by Naoki, but Shunsui apologized with references to straight trees as honest as truth and ended up with a kiss on his hair, as well.

By nightfall, they were both too exhausted to do anything but put their futons together and sleep, knowing the other was simply there. By morning, they didn't even bother pushing them apart anymore when the medical teams came in.

On the fourth day, buoyed by the sea of women came a very bewildered Shiba Kenshin with, of all things, another package of homework assignments.

"'Tactics and Strategy'?" asked Shunsui, one eyebrow rising in question.

"It's a new class. Taught by Yamamoto-sama and entry into the class is by invitation only." Kenshin wrinkled his brow. "And both of you are invited."

"Interesting." said Jyuushiro, turning the book over in his hands. "How many are in the class?"

"That's what's so... interesting... about it. There are only six of us. All of us are from high families or direct descendents -- other than you, Ukitake-kun."

Shunsui and Jyuushiro just stared at Kenshin until he put his hands up to ward them off. "And, no, I don't have a single clue why. Everyone is asking me why you two got in when... when..."

"When we were just beaten within an inch of our lives before everyone," Shunsui supplied in the most helpful of tones.

Kenshin had the grace to blush. "Well, no one quite says it that way."

"They should," Shunsui said absentmindedly. "That's what it felt like."

"Well, no one is quite sure how they're supposed to treat you two guys yet, either," Kenshin said, frowning. "I think it's going to depend on how the teachers treat you."

"Alone or together?" Jyuushiro asked, thinking hard.

"In class, I suspect," Kenshin said, looking a little hunted.

"So I'm the black sheep and you're the poor cousin, and we're both outcasts," Shunsui said. Then he added brightly, "This could be fun! They're not going to expect anything out of us."

"Shunsui... Shiba-kun is one of "them", too. He's not stupid," Jyuushiro said warningly.

"Hey, then you can be one of us, too!" Shunsui said to Kenshin. "Maybe we'll outnumber them faster that way."

Kenshin groaned.

Jyuushiro patted him on the back, "Think of it as proper application of the class materials, Shiba-kun."

Both Kenshin and Shunsui just looked at Jyuushiro.

"Strategy and tactics. It could be very interesting," Jyuushiro said with a smile.

* * *

They got out of the infirmary the next morning, and headed off to classes. 

Jyuushiro was very careful to stay with Shunsui during the day. Jyuushiro collared him, twice, when he chased a girl into a corner, and dragged him off to class. The girls had giggled and said hello to Jyuushiro as well.

The teachers all treated Jyuushiro and Shunsui with the same courtesy they treated the other students. So it made it infinitely easier for Jyuushiro to introduce Shunsui around to the other people in the classes, old and young alike. For the most part Shunsui behaved nicely enough to everyone else. Shunsui really didn't do well in either the kido or the shunpo classes, but Jyuushiro saw him laughing with the other lower-ranking students there. So he was making friends quite readily there as well.

What proved most challenging, though, was that after the lunch break, they had a break of an hour between classes. While Shunsui ate lunch with him, he'd disappeared by the time they had to get to Ryuu-sama's hand-to-hand class.

Not quite knowing what else to do, Jyuushiro tried to send out his reiatsu to try and find Shunsui. Instead, he startled a great many students by flaring his reiatsu right in the middle of the lunch room. Two girls passed out and he caught them before they could fall, but then he had to deal with how to put them both down gently.

Of course, that's when Shunsui came running to see what had happened to make him flare.

Shunsui laughed so hard he cried before lending Jyuushiro a hand.

Which was why Jyuushiro found that he was quite ready to beat the living daylights out of Shunsui when they arrived in Ryuu-sama's class.

* * *

Everyone bowed in thanks to the school, bowed in thanks to the teacher, and bowed in thanks to each other, and then class began. Warm up, stretching, then practice hits on the dummy, then kata with receiving line and attacking line. 

Jyuushiro loved kata. He loved the sliding of his bare feet against the smoothness of the wood floors with time enough to make each motion absolutely precise, absolutely perfect.

"Again!" Ryuu-sama said. "Forward, into the lure, you have to be close enough that your opponent is tempted to strike at you. Now jump back, dodge, arms all the way up so that they're out of the way, too. Step with the left foot to bring your center forward and strike for the head. Receivers dodge back, defend your eyes! Another step. Attacker, up. Hold the threat and timing for the strike. Now back to center, threat to the knee, then retreat... Again..."

And again... and again... and then another, harder, more complex, but still at that pace. Teaching reflexes, how to see what a threat looked like, see what an opportunity looked like.

Everyone was sweating by the time they were done, and a few were grumbling quietly about leaving enough time to spar.

Ryuu-sama laughed, "Well... does that mean you want to skip live blade practices?"

A cheer went up. Sparring was done with bamboo shinai, kata with bokken, wood swords that had the same weight as the real ones, but still it was the difference between a model and reality. Neither practice weapon helped train the reiatsu. That could only be done with live blades.

Hay bales were set up on stands to get them to the right height of an opponent. Ryuu-sama organized everyone in lines for the ten bales.

"You're to approach these bales and let your resolve form, and then hit them with everything you've got. Try and cut from top to bottom, as you would through a Hollow's mask. There won't be the resistance you'll get from a live opponent, but the thickness and density of the bale should make up for a good deal of it. I don't expect any of you to get all the way through the bale, but I do expect you to apply yourself as best you're able."

"Hai!" said the whole class.

Then the lines went at it. Little bits of straw floated in the air, as hit after hit started fraying the tops of the bales. The air sizzled with energy, with reiatsu, as each student extended themselves. Jyuushiro felt a little dizzy with all that energy pushing at his.

Kenshin's flare made everyone's head turn, and he got a big cheer as his blade bit through the bale before him, ending just inches from the bottom of the bale.

Jyuushiro and Shunsui went at the same time. The whole class hushed as both men drew and their reiatsu went up. They raised their arms, kiai'ed, and THOOOM...

Straw went flying everywhere as both bales burst from their cut ties. There was coughing and giggling. When the dust finally cleared, both had cut through to the stands that the hay bales were standing on. Shunsui had gone through the stand itself, splintering the bamboo. There was a collective gasp.

Ryuu-sama studied the results. Then he had two other students wrestle a bale onto another stand and another bale on the stand Jyuushiro had left. Then he waved the lines back into motion.

When everyone had had their turn, he waved Kenshin, Jyuushiro, and Shunsui out of their lines.

"Your reiatsu, your will is both defense and offense in your fights. You must keep your resolution, your need to do what it is that you do high, or else your defense as well as your offense will fail. It's not just about the cutting, the skill with a sword. It's about your hearts as well."

"True killing intent can only come from true confrontation. So... let's confront," Ryuu-sama said with a grin that showed teeth. "I can't quite trust you trainees to swing at each other, yet. There's a certain level of control and capability you have to have before you won't do serious damage to each other by mistake, even with shinai. That's what sparring with shinai and bogu is for. But, for now, you can take live swings at me."

Ryuu-sama's reiatsu came up, and everyone flinched away. The three closest to him winced and Jyuushiro found that he could barely look up, much less think about taking a swing.

"Ukitake-kun. Bring your reiatsu up if you can," Ryuu-sama asked, as he took a ready stance.

Jyuushiro almost panicked. He wasn't sure if he could...

"Will, Ukitake-kun. Why are you here? What are you defending? What are you fighting for?" said that implacable voice.

Jyuushiro took a long, shaking breath and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see Shunsui and Kenshin looking at him with that dread in their eyes as they tried to figure out how they were going to do what was asked of them, too. Why was he here? The family... he gathered up his family, the whole huge number of them to his heart. But there was... more: Old man Yamamoto standing in that courtroom, Shunsui looking so lost, and the feeling he got when he'd agreed to take the pillory. Those huge fish had asked him if it was just... justice for all actions taken, all hopes won.

... and he felt his reiatsu blaze up.

He felt that sea, those fish he'd nearly touched, swimming with powerful strokes, moving through a part of him he had only just known he possessed. He breathed again, and it was easier, with them. He opened his eyes and looked Ryuu-sama in the eye. His teacher smiled, "Good. Ukitake-kun. Strike."

He felt that fire falter when he thought about hitting his teacher, but... this was in order to learn what he had to learn. And his trust in Ryuu-sama was such that he took his teacher at his word, and gathered up all the intent he could find. Then he raised his sword and struck.

Ryuu-sama's blade didn't even move. Jyuushiro had a moment's horror, as he brought his blade down right on Ryuu-sama's head, but then his blade just stopped, kissing that black hair. The same edge that had gone through four feet of hay, now gently, so gently, sheared a single lock of hair away.

Ryuu-sama's eyebrow went up. "That's quite good, Ukitake-kun. You actually touched me."

Jyuushiro started shaking as he went back to where the other two young men stood.

"Shiba-kun, you next."

Kenshin flared much more quickly than Jyuushiro had been able to do, and he went for a gut shot instead of the head. He got no further than Jyuushiro, but got praised for the quickness of his release.

"Kyouraku-kun. You're up, now."

* * *

Shunsui's head had been in a whirl ever since Ryuu had asked Jyuushiro why he was here. Shunsui wasn't sure why _he _was here any more. The old reasons didn't seem to make sense anymore, and he didn't have good new ones. He had so little honor anymore and had no family that cared whether he succeeded or failed. He had no goals or ambitions to be the best in the class. 

He did feel he had the skills and the abilities to hunt Hollows, to help protect others, but those others were just vague shadows to him. Rumors or names, things unseen; how could such things have a hold on his heart?

That's when he heard his name called, and his head went up. Jyuushiro was looking at him, all expectant, and he grabbed at that. Jyuushiro believed in him, he had taken that beating and stuck by him. The dream Jyuushiro had saved him. The real one had listened to him, so deeply as to actually have kissed him when he'd longed for so much more... but that audacious action had imprinted the fact that the other had understood what he'd meant rather than what he'd said.

"Kyouraku-kun," drawled that aggravating instructor, "We're all waiting..."

It was the dream grave, the feelings that Shunsui had felt when he was pulled up, that he pulled out and wrapped his heart around when he wrapped his hands around the hilt of his zanpakuto. The bittersweet feeling of being saved through the pain on the pillory brought his reiatsu up and higher. Being lost, being found, the beauty of the summer field at night, and his zanpakuto whispered in his ear...

He felt his reiatsu rise.

"Strike, Kyouraku-kun. Strike."

Shunsui raised his power, raised his arms, and then focused on his target. He could feel Ryuu's intent pushing at him, poking him into anger. He pulled together his intent as he knew he should... and then charged with his kiai, as trained. He brought the blade down. Even knowing that his instructor was strong enough to turn him easily, even knowing that his strength couldn't be enough, he saw that he was trying to kill a human being.

And he faltered just as his edge was about to strike. His reiatsu blew out. And Ryuu's reiatsu, at the sudden loss of resistance, flung him backwards to hit the wall of the dojo.

* * *

"Shunsui!!" Jyuushiro saw heads turn at his very familiar addressing of his friend, but he didn't give a damn. He just ran over to his friend, and was relieved to see him stir. He offered Shunsui a hand to get up, and Shunsui took it. "You all right?" 

Ryuu-sama came over, "You lost it. Right when you realized what you were doing... neh?"

Shunsui shook his head ruefully, "I did."

Ryuu-sama griped Shunsui's shoulder, "It's natural to not want to kill someone else, but if you want to do this job, you're going to have to get over it."

"Get _over_ it?" Shunsui asked, "Get over trying to end a life that has so much more it could do?"

Ryuu-sama said, steadily, "So much more it could destroy, so many more people it could eat, or add so much more death and suffering in the world?"

"Do you mean you or some Hollow?" Shunsui cried. Jyuushiro reflexively kicked Shunsui in the shin before he could say more to get him into trouble. Shunsui whirled at the light blow, and the anguish in his eyes took Jyuushiro's breath away. Jyuushiro found himself automatically going into a hand-to-hand ready stance.

Shunsui's fist balled up. Then he looked at it and then at Jyuushiro, and then he just ran away.

"Sir? May I follow him?" Jyuushiro asked Ryuu.

"You'd better. He has to figure this out and it might be better if he doesn't do it alone," Ryuu-sama said.

* * *

It took Jyuushiro nearly an hour to find Shunsui again. He'd gone up one of the flame-leaved oak trees on campus, and the canopy made it hard to spot him. Jyuushiro wasn't going to try the reiatsu thing again, but he was relieved to find Shunsui. He had to remember how to climb trees. He collected scraped elbows and a rip in his hakama for his troubles. 

He climbed up and Shunsui was slung between the trunk and a secondary branch, and even though the branch swayed as Jyuushiro came up, Shunsui didn't move. He didn't even open his eyes.

"Shunsui?" Jyuushiro said quietly, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"What are you sorry for? You got it right. I screwed my own part up on my own, thank you so much." The tone was biting, and Shunsui's eyes still hadn't opened. Then he sighed and opened his eyes.

"Rude and true," Jyuushiro said peaceably as he sat on a different secondary branch, settling into the sway of it as the wind pushed at the dying leaves. He put his back to the trunk as well. "But I can say sorry for things that happened that I didn't necessarily do. I can be sorry for the death of a flower, the age of a koi, the falling of the leaves."

"Now you sound like my zanpakuto," Shunsui grumbled, his eyes closing again.

"You hear your zanpakuto?" Jyuushiro asked.

"Yes... but it rambles, and I can't always hear it clearly," Shunsui said. "I heard it right before..." he trailed off.

"Right before you struck?" Jyuushiro asked.

Shunsui just nodded.

"Me, too," Jyuushiro said.

Shunsui's eyes went wide open, "_You _heard my zanpakuto?! "

"No! No. I heard... no... not really... I felt mine before we hit at Ryuu-sama," Jyuushiro said thoughtfully.

"I don't know if I want to find mine if I have to try and kill someone to get it," Shunsui said.

"I don't think the killing part of it is the important part," Jyuushiro said quietly. Then he shook his head. "I think it's what we're protecting that's important... Ryuu-sama didn't ask me how much I wanted to kill him. He asked me what it was that I had to protect, what I was fighting for, not what did I want to destroy."

There was silence for a while up in the tree. Jyuushiro relaxed as he listened to the rustle of the leaves, the quiet voices of other students walking by, and the tree gently rocked him back and forth.

"But death..." Shunsui sighed, "dealing death is permanent..."

Jyuushiro knew that some part of his own mind was thinking that Shunsui was thinking too much, why didn't he just take orders as they were given and deal with it? But there was a flash in the back of his heart that said, _No, he's finally getting to the real point of it all. The training, the safety measures, the practice tries to hide it all from you to make it easier to convert you into something that can destroy as well. Of all of you, he sees._

Jyuushiro shivered quietly at that, and wasn't at all sure what to say.

Finally, Shunsui blew a breath out, "I guess I should get to the track. I've got... hmmm... one hundred and twenty five laps to get to before the end of the term. I might as well get started."

"Wait," Jyuushiro said, finally pushed to it. Shunsui stopped on Jyuushiro's branch, looking at him, eyes dark. "You're right. I hadn't... seen it that way. That even if it is for something, there's something destroyed." He got a nod. "But I'm not... I'm not sure I can care the way you do. I am sorry about that."

Shunsui blew out another breath, and gripped Jyuushiro's shoulder. "I'm not so sure you should be sorry for that, either. I gotta go."

"Yeah. I'll see you in detention," Jyuushiro said.

"What? You got detention, too?" Shunsui asked in surprise.

"No, but there aren't any rules about keeping me out," Jyuushiro said with a smile. "Besides we can catch up on more homework together, then."

Shunsui hesitated and then said, "But, you know... you don't have to... baby sit me. I'll come back, now."

Jyuushiro blushed, "If you don't want me to come, I won't, then. I didn't mean to make you feel..."

"No, you did mean to make me feel wanted, but I'm just feeling a little hunted, I guess," Shunsui sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. Damn, we both seem to be saying that a lot, lately. How about just 'see ya later, bud'?"

Jyuushiro gave a wry grin, "Okay. I'll see you."

Shunsui dropped from the tree. Jyuushiro stayed up it with the warmth of his blush and a feeling of loss. He wasn't sure why or what it was he'd lost, but he wondered if it was his own fault.

* * *

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Many thanks to incandescens for beta'ing this piece for me.

After six years of competitive fencing, practicing with live blades on people is, for me, emotionally, like practicing with loaded handguns on people. It actively squicks me. Even with fake blades and protective gear I still carry scars. A lot of early kendo training has to do with putting on the bogu, the protective gear, correctly.

When I first saw the anime, the cartoon bits of Urahara and Ichigo "practicing" in the practice cave under the store made me just go, "oh well, the creator had no clue... they have healing, it's just the way the anime is... they practice with live blades... ugh." But then I got the manga, and the terror on Ichigo's face when he first realized Urahara is actually trying to cut him was exactly the expression I'd have gotten on my face. Kubo Tite knows, I thought. Then why the heck are they doing that?

When I really studied the passages, I realized that Urahara isn't teaching technique, he isn't teaching reflex, he isn't teaching target recognition. He's teaching Ichigo how to use his will, his force, and pushing him into a corner so that he can bring it all to the fore.

So I figured most sword training would follow traditional techniques, but once they had the basics down they'd have to deal with the same problem Urahara had to deal with by himself with Ichigo. How do you train the power without the threat? Maybe there just is no other way.


	8. Tactics

Two weeks later, Jyuushiro finally acknowledged that he was worried.

Shunsui had, finally, asked for some help on getting to the unconnected classes on time. The connected classes, starting from the early morning ones, were easy enough. They both realized that Shunsui didn't have the time sense to get to classes after a break of nearly any kind. He just got interested in things.

Things like going skinny dipping at the lake. Like stealing underwear from the girls' dorms. Like sneaking in jugs of sake and wine for all the Academy folk that could drink. Like taking apart and putting together one of the practice battering rams in the other dorm's cafeteria. Little things like that.

When Shunsui got that look in his eye, Jyuushiro learned, fairly quickly, to not get in his way and to try and figure out a way to get out of the mess they inevitably got into. In fact, they invited a couple of their classmates along as well, and learned more about Abe-kun, Sato Saburou, and Kenshin than they'd known before. That had been pretty good. The ram would have been impossible to carry without them.

But he did get Shunsui to agree that if Jyuushiro said it was class time, it was class time, so that had worked out. Even if the skinny dipping episode had had… consequences… with Aunt Reiko and the Seiretai Ladies Sketching Society's impromptu lake-viewing party, he could live with that.

But that wasn't what worried him.

What worried him was that after all the escapades, all the studies, all the homework, all the punishment laps, and all the detention, Shunsui would take a bath and just go to sleep. Shunsui's reiatsu now spread through the small dorm room like a lazy cat before the fire. Jyuushiro's had grown as well, and they shared their space and their at-rest reiatsu like their air. So they slept in their own futons and all was quiet.

Too quiet for Jyuushiro, because he wondered how his roommate would take celibacy. He'd never seen Shunsui come in every night and just go to sleep like that, before. And he assumed that Shunsui had... well... gotten some... every night he'd been gone, or something, or at least with more frequency than any other guy in the dorms.

So he watched and worried and in his head he had this image of having to lock his roommate in a supply closet with three or four girls just to take him off his edge.

Ahh… that would be a worry for another day. Shunsui seemed to be doing just fine, and he was sleeping peacefully.

* * *

"Good afternoon, my students," Yamamoto-sama greeted his students as he walked into the classroom. 

Yamamoto-sama held the Tactics and Strategy class in one of the four lecture auditoriums for the school. It was a huge room, with tiered seats nearly three stories up from the lecture floor. The seats all had desks before them. The open floor of the demonstration and lecture area was large, smooth, and open. Jyuushiro wondered why they held such a huge room for only six students and a lecturer.

All six of them were in the front row. Shiba Kenshin sat between Jyuushiro and Shunsui. Beautiful Kuchiki Kaoru leaned gracefully at a desk next to dark, smiling Ito Kali. Kali was a cousin to the Clan Shihouin and it showed in her dark skin, though her hair was black and her eyes as green as spring leaves. Ryuu Hayato slouched a few seats away, watching all from under hooded eyes. There was no one from the Hatsuzora clan that Jyuushiro could see; but, from what little Jyuushiro knew of Clan and Family politics, they hadn't actively participated in supporting the Academy, yet.

"Good afternoon, Yamamoto-sama," everyone chorused, politely.

"Since, in the past few weeks we have covered the definitions and differences between strategy and tactics, today we will start our first series on specific tactics against Hollows as practiced by the military organizations within Soul Society," Yamamoto-sama intoned from behind the podium.

A hand went up. Yamamoto-sama blinked and then nodded, "Yes?"

Kali tilted her head as her hand came back down. She asked, "Sir, what military organizations? I know that there are countless bands of solders hired by the various Houses and Clans. They all come together under your war banner when we have need of great forces, but on the most part, they're completely independent, no?"

Yamamoto-sama nodded graciously, "You are correct. However, the five major houses, and all the houses related to them, constitute over three-quarters of all the fighting forces within all of Soul Society. Each with their own specializations, but they are organizations, nonetheless. They all approach Hollows in their own way, according to their own manner of combat. For you to be fully prepared, we will introduce you to all the different tactics and techniques used for cleansing the Hollows found in all of Soul Society."

A box next to Yamamoto-sama's podium was stacked high with books. Yamamoto-sama started passing out the books. Each student received seven books: five with the names of the major clans, one with the title "Common Tactics", and another labeled, "General Information About Hollows".

"Are we going to knock them over by throwing books at them?" Hayato grumbled.

Shunsui snickered. Jyuushiro could only give him a look, with Kenshin between them.

Yamamoto-sama raised an eyebrow and said, "Kyouraku-kun and Ryuu-kun. Since you do not feel these tomes are valuable in learning how to destroy Hollows, let us see how you do without them. Come up here. Daisuke-san, would you please bring in the demonstration materials?"

Jyuushiro was surprised to see the old guard from the whipping. He couldn't be part of the city's general guard if he was here helping Yamamoto-sama teach. Who was he?

The old man simply bowed to Yamamoto-sama in acknowledgement of his request, and headed out a door and down a hallway to the left of the podium.

Shunsui looked nonchalant. Hayato looked angry. Both students walked up to Yamamoto-sama. He pointed them toward his left, in the direction of the hallway Daisuke had gone down. "Over there. You should draw your zanpakuto." They both looked at him in surprise. "Draw. Now."

They both drew uncertainly. Bare blades in a classroom?

Then there was a bellow from the hallway, and crashing, and the sudden rise of two unfamiliar reiatsu. One was hungry, angry, and somehow wrong and bitter with the tang of iron, of blood. The other, more powerful, reiatsu smelled, tasted, felt like green spring trees and grasses and sunshine. Then there was the crack of a whip. Jyuushiro flinched at the sound and saw Shunsui flinch as well.

"Tactic number one," Yamamoto-sama intoned. "Be ready with your weapon and your reiatsu when you face a Hollow."

Both young men focused their reiatsu at his prompting. Jyuushiro could hear the familiar bone-rasping howl at the back of Shunsui's reiatsu. Hayato's was sharp and cold and high, tasting of thin air and sharp sun.

A white mask appeared in the doorway. The creature stopped at the suddenly open space. There was a shouted order, and then again that hiss and crack. And the Hollow, for it could be nothing else, bolted into the classroom. Its claws tore at the floor, and it charged the two young men.

"Tactic number twenty-two: When you have greater numbers, use that to your advantage by not offering an easy target of all of you grouped together." Yamamoto-sama flowed to the side as the Hollow charged. Shunsui swore and jumped to the other side. Hayato frowned and did a quick shunpo step that took him almost to the edge of the demonstration area.

The Hollow chose the closest and least threatening of its targets, which was Shunsui. It scrabbled at the wooded floor as it tried to turn fast enough to get a good bite at Shunsui. Chunks of splintered wood flew in all directions. Shunsui managed to deflect the teeth and snap of jaws with his sword, but was knocked sliding by the weight and momentum of that bony head.

Hayato muttered a kido spell and snapped off a shot when the Hollow stopped to bellow angrily. The fire kido splashed against the Hollow, making it scream in anger. The spell burned a hole in the Hollow's shoulder, but where it splashed against the mask, there was only a scorch mark.

"Ah... Tactic number five: Kido is good for distracting a Hollow, but it cannot cleanse a Hollow. Only zanpakuto are capable of cleansing a Hollow. All else is but distraction."

Kali sniffed, and then disappeared in a flash step. She came up right in front of the Hollow. Unfortunately, Hayato had already unleashed another spell. The lightning spell slammed into Kali's back, knocking her down almost on top of the Hollow's claws.

"Tactic number thirteen: Communicate your intentions before interfering with a Hollow cleansing already in progress."

Shunsui snarled, pivoted, and grabbed Kali up before the Hollow's jaws closed on her. He tried to move away, but the Hollow was faster. It swiped at the two of them with its claws, batted them both up into the air, on a flat, fast trajectory towards the seats and desks.

Jyuushiro reacted. He shunpo'ed up, and tried his best to deflect them back to the demonstration floor. The desks and chairs were sturdy and angular, falling on them would be far more painful than slamming into the smooth floor and sliding. He managed to turn the flying ball of arms, legs, and bodies, but ended up on the bottom of the pile when they all slammed into the floor.

Jyuushiro could hear the Hollow scream, but he couldn't see a thing. Kali and Shunsui scrambled off of him. He rolled to the side just in time to see Hayato leap from where he'd been standing. Zanpakuto in both hands, Hayato took a trajectory that had him high above the Hollow's head and mask. He kiai'ed and swung, using the momentum of his fall along with the strength in his body to cut the Hollow's mask and head all in one fell stroke. The black body and white mask crumbled away.

"Tactic number four: Attack Hollows from above in order to use your fall as well as your strength to cut all the way through," Yamamoto-sama said. "Well done, Ryuu-kun. Did your uncle teach you that motion?"

"Yes, sir. He had me practice it several times in the last few weeks. I hadn't realized exactly what it was for, before, it seemed far too extreme to use against my classmates." Hayato trotted over to where the other three were, "Ito-kun... are you..."

Kali shrugged, "I'm fine. Thanks to Kyouraku-kun, I'm still in one piece." Blood dripped from a rip along her shoulder, and she looked at it ruefully, "This was from falling on the thing... I'm now sorry I interfered." She laughed. "I guess I learned that tactic the hard way. Kyouraku-kun, how are you?"

Shunsui had claw marks along his ribs that ran red as well. He touched them thoughtfully, wincing a bit. "All right, I guess, just cuts and bruises. It didn't get through my ribs. It could have been worse if we'd fallen on the desks. Thank you, Jyuushiro. Yamamoto-sama, I think I now see the... value... of reading."

Yamamoto-sama chuckled. "Good. I am glad you have seen the light. Assignments for next week include the first five chapters of the general knowledge book. The information about Hollows will be good background for the other books and why the other tactics work. So. I wish for you to ponder a question. What strategies did you exercise in your concerted attack on the Hollow? Did you have any? And, if so, what were they?"

Everyone stood silent for a while.

Kali ventured, "I don't think we had any, sir. Not really."

"Well... not unless, 'Cleanse the Hollow' is a strategy," Hayato said, half laughing.

"Why would that not be a strategy?" Yamamoto-sama said.

Hayato's eyes widened, "It's too simple, sir."

"Is that not why you both drew your zanpakuto? Why you tried to use your kido spells? Why Ito-kun jumped in? When so many actions stem from a single idea, why does that not make a strategy?" Yamamoto-sama looked around the class. "Are there others?"

"Not get killed?" Shunsui said dubiously.

"What actions stem from that concept?" Yamamoto-sama asked.

"My dodging. My pulling out Ito-kun. Jyuushiro knocking us back from the desk area, sir?" Shunsui asked the last as if he were sure he was wrong.

Yamamoto-sama nodded. "Exactly. Sometimes the most simple of statements are the clearest strategy. All actions can stem from them. The simplest strategy for ridding Soul Society of the menace of Hollows might be stated as: 'Find the Hollows and cleanse them.' If I have an entire army and simply give them all that order as their direction, then they can all do their best to create methods, or tactics, in which they can carry that overall goal out. Different organizations, different people will all come up with ways in which they can best carry that out. That is the reason for a strategy, so that everyone will be heading in the same direction, even if how they get there will differ on what resources they have."

"But, Yamamoto-sama, you cannot direct an army with something that loose," Kaoru finally said, a frown creasing his beautiful face. "How would they know where to move? What to do? Having different companies just trying to kill Hollows, they might get in each other's way."

"Those are tactics. To move an army, a company, a division, are all simply how to get to the goal. If two companies did run into each other and knew that their main objective was to cleanse the Hollows, implying that all human contact would be among allies, then they would not hurt each other and might work together on the overall objective. Their captains could coordinate how to spread themselves out and do their work," Yamamoto-sama said. "Do you see the difference?"

Kaoru shook his head, "I'm not sure I get it, sir. Moving an army is such a big thing. How can it be the same as just jumping above a Hollow?"

Jyuushiro started in, "Moving an army is how. Jumping a Hollow is how as well. I think strategy provides a why to any action. At least, that's what I see as the difference between the two."

Yamamoto-sama nodded at Jyuushiro. Then turned back to Kaoru, "Does that explain it to you?"

Kaoru nodded, "Yes, sir. I think so."

Kali frowned, "What I don't get, though, is why, if there is something that simple, it's so hard for everyone to control Hollows? What are people using as a strategy today?"

Yamamoto-sama looked at his students, "Would anyone care to answer Ito-kun?"

Everyone thought very hard. It was Shunsui who finally said, "Well... I think the Clans and Families are using the strategy of 'Protect ourselves and just ourselves.' Which includes protecting their rights, their privileges, their people, and their standing, and doesn't actually focus on ridding everyone of the menace of Hollows. In fact," he paused as if weighing whether or not to say it at all, "in fact, some warlords use the Hollow menace as a means to controlling their own people."

Kaoru's eyes narrowed, "Can you back that accusation up, Kyouraku-kun?"

"It's not an accusation, Kuchiki-kun, it's an observation," Jyuushiro said quietly.

"Unless you have something you're feeling guilty about?" Shunsui asked, smiling gently.

Kaoru gave a dismissive flick of his hand.

"What else would stem from such a strategy?" Yamamoto-sama asked.

"Are you saying he's correct, sir?" Hayato asked incredulously.

Kali tsked. "Well, think about it. We see that the Hollows aren't being addressed. So obviously no one has received direct orders to just kill Hollows."

"But it's not 'Keep Hollows alive so that people are scared enough to come to us', is it?" Hayato asked.

"No, Kyuu-kun," Yamamoto-sama said, "I do not believe that that is the stated strategy of any of the various organizations in Soul Society, but how many of you have received any kind of strategy from your Clan heads or the leaders of your forces?"

There was an uneasy silence.

"So. You are here to learn about the possibilities of these ideas. That is a start," Yamamoto-sama sighed. "Daisuke-san, would you please bring the medics in? We should see to these wounded." He bowed gently to them all, "That was well done, my students. You have obtained the main objectives of this lesson."

Daisuke came in with the second medical team, headed up by taciturn Sasaki Osamu. Sasaki-san tsked and eyed the damage to the floors as well. He stalked up to Kali and Shunsui, and set three of his interns working on Kali, but he took care of Shunsui's wounds himself. The reiatsu healing took care of closing off the bleeding and the worst of the damage, but he put bandages over what was left as protection.

Once Yamamoto-sama saw that everything was well in the hands of the medical personnel, he said, "I have a meeting I must attend. I shall see you all next week. Thank you very much."

"Thank you, sensei," all the students said and everyone bowed before he left.

Everyone stayed while the two injured ones got tended. Jyuushiro was not too surprised, as Kaoru was very concerned for Kali. Hayato, who would otherwise have been most likely to leave, stayed because he had in essence injured them. And Jyuushiro himself and Kenshin were used to sticking with Shunsui. So they were all connected. Hm... Jyuushiro considered.

"Shunsui, do you know of a good place we could all have a good dinner and some drinks?" Jyuushiro asked.

Everyone looked at him. Shunsui looked up from where Sasaki-san was binding up his ribs. He looked a little pale, but smiled at the question. "Certainly. Close, cheap and plentiful and tasty, if you like, the Red Boar does a pretty good okonomiyaki with good beer."

"Everyone up for that? It might be a good place to talk about... well... all this." Jyuushiro waved a hand at the splintered floor still splattered with a faint spray of blood. "And I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Kenshin said, chuckling. "But I'm in."

Kali chuckled, "Well, I could always use something to replace the blood loss."

"Then I shall come as well," Kaoru said quietly.

Jyuushiro walked up to Hayato who folded his arms. "You're very welcome, too, Ryuu-kun. I'd love to learn more about that finishing move you did."

Hayato's head went back in surprise. "Uhm... oh. Sure. I'll come, too." He frowned, "And I'll pay for everyone's meals, 'cause I screwed up with the kido shot."

Kali laughed, "It wasn't you. I jumped in without saying anything, do you remember that tactic? I will, now, for sure. So I'll pay half, too. Okay... so everyone dump stuff in their rooms and meet at the Red Boar for dinner?"

"Aye!" They all streamed out, and headed their own ways with their new books. Bathed, changed, and unburdened by books, they all met again at the Red Boar.

Jyuushiro had a simple, plain gray over-kimono with narrow, black obi. Kenshin chose brown with a brocade pattern like the cracks in dry earth. Hayato's over-kimono was black with the crest of his family on each sleeve. The cloth, though, was sheer, and sometimes the mountain scene on the underside of the sleeves of his under-kimono shone through the severe black of the covering cloth.

Shunsui had cheerfully thrown caution to the winds. Jyuushiro had helped him with his quick sponge bath, in order to keep the water off his bandages. Jyuushiro also had to help him on with his choice in clothing. While Shunsui had two under-kimono on, they were cream and sea green, with an over-kimono that was purple. He had thrown a haori over that as well, which had wings of purple and gold with daffodils and irises all over it. The gold obi fluttered with dragonflies, but even then Jyuushiro thought it was better than the pink one Shunsui had initially attempted to put on.

Kali giggled outright when she saw Shunsui in all his gaudy color. "Kyouraku-kun, where did you get those?"

"I had them made," Shunsui said with a smile. "I saw the fabric and had to have them. You, Ito-kun, are utterly breathtaking."

She was dressed in a furisode of palest gold that highlighted her darkness. Bells and butterflies fluttered amid peonies all along the lower edges and up the sleeves. Long, silver grass stems flowed from shoulder to ground and the whole was cut by a bow-tied obi dyed in shibori style that lent the cloth the sheen and ripple of a flowing stream.

She gave Shunsui a gentle bow. "Thank you, Kyouraku-kun."

Kaoru had simply worn a plain black outer kimono, again with the crests of the Kuchiki clan. Severe in its plainness, it contrasted against his silk white skin and fine features all the better.

"Shall we?" he asked, and brushed aside the curtain.

The chef's greeting was quite energetic at seeing this very finely dressed party come into his establishment, and he showed them to a table very, very promptly. Everyone knelt about the cooking grill, and promptly ordered meals and plenty of beer, spurred on by the amazing smells.

After all the reiatsu use in the afternoon, everyone tucked into their food and the whole table was silent for a good fifteen minutes. Then they all started talking at once. Jyuushiro just ate and enjoyed watching Shunsui shine as he drank and laughed and teased both Kaoru and Kali until they blushed.

Over the table, Shunsui met Jyuushiro's eyes. For the first time since Jyuushiro had chased him up into a tree, Shunsui quirked that curl of a smile at him. Jyuushiro grinned back, unabashed, and returned to his meal feeling somehow lighter. Eventually Jyuushiro turned away from his food, and started to draw out Hayato, first on the technique, and then on stories about his uncle, the teacher of the martial arts classes. Hayato responded well to Jyuushiro's opening with stories about a mountain champaign fought on ice and rock.

With the judicious application of more beer, everyone relaxed and talked about their insane afternoon. After much discussion and, to Jyuushiro's relief, no fighting, everyone finally agreed that Yamamoto's Tactics and Strategy class might be the most... interesting one they'd ever encountered.

"It's the first time we've actually been made to use something practical to deal with a Hollow," Hayato said thoughtfully.

Kaoru studied the golden depths of his beer. "And I am sure that it will not be our last."

Everyone nodded, silent for just that moment, and then they moved on. On to Shunsui's tailor, where to find the best yakitori, what color Kuchiki-sama's eyes really were, and on and on into the night.

When everyone staggered out into the cool night air, they headed their separate ways. Jyuushiro was under Shunsui's arm, supporting him with some difficulty, but careful of his bandaged side.

Mournfully, Shunsui said, "Welp... shooo mush for da outcast plan... they're too nice ta stay too mad at... shpecially that lovely Kali-chan. She's so beuuuooootiful..."

"She is, isn't she?" Jyuushiro had only drunk one beer for four or five of Shunsui's, a long-time habit when on a short budget.

"Kaoru'sh not bad, either," Shunsui muttered "A little too... tight for my tashtes, though..."

Jyuushiro had to laugh at that. "Probably for mine, too. Though... there is something tempting about being able to touch what's under that calm."

Shunsui stopped, perforce stopping Jyuushiro as well. "You've got... tastes... that way?"

Jyuushiro felt his cheeks blaze with a blush. "What? That kiss in the infirmary wasn't enough to tell you something?"

"All that told me was that you're willing to comfort a friend after a nightmare," Shunsui said. "And you never... followed up on it."

That was when Jyuushiro noticed that Shunsui wasn't slurring anymore. What was he, superhuman, five beers and not actually drunk unless he felt like it? In the very back of his head was a little voice saying, _You know, this might be the answer to that celibacy thing that was bothering you earlier_. But...

Jyuushiro sighed, "No... I don't usually have tastes that way. I like girls, they're nice. They don't beat you up when you disagree with them. When they're smart they're really, really smart. When they're powerful they're beautiful and the other way around, too. They're romantic, and they really are good at care-giving. Besides they talk..."

"I talk." Even in the dark the pout was evident. "And I wasn't saying you had to give up girls. I don't intend to. I fully agree with your assessment."

Jyuushiro digested that for a bit. "Okay. Girls are still in, but it's not like you've talked about this kinda stuff since the infirmary. And, besides, I said usually," Jyuushiro said, feeling a bit like he was stepping into a hole, not knowing where it was going to drop him.

"Meaning..." Shunsui said with all due caution.

Jyuushiro sighed, "Meaning if you really want to go down this path, you're going to have to take it slow with me. I don't usually do this. But I think I might want to with you. Eventually, though, not while you're still hurt and... I'm going to have to know you better."

"Hmmm... that's fair enough," Shunsui said, but the arm draped around Jyuushiro was bringing him around to the front of the larger man.

"Shunsui..." Jyuushiro said with warning in his voice.

"I love it when you're tough with me," Shunsui said, half-laughing. "May I please have a kiss, sir? Just a kiss..."

Irritated and aroused, Jyuushiro slid his hands up in to Shunsui's short hair and he brought Shunsui's face down to his. He tightened his grip on that curly, dark, so smooth hair, and felt Shunsui's breath hitch. Shunsui's jaw was wider than any girl's, muscled and rough with unshaven stubble. When Jyuushiro tasted those mobile lips again, they now tasted of beer and brown okonomiyaki sauce, sweet and salt and meaty. This time Shunsui kissed him back, and it was unlike anything he'd ever done before. The smooth power of the man shook him. Those arms enfolded him, the same ones that had kept him so safe when he was coughing.

Jyuushiro trembled when the kiss ended. His eyes closed, hands cupping the back of Shunsui's head.

"Gods... " Shunsui growled the word, low and throaty. "You want me to take this _slow_?"

"Yes..." Jyuushiro said faintly. "Please. This is already pretty overwhelming." He staggered a little, when Shunsui's grip loosened. "Sorry..."

"It's okay," Shunsui said quietly. "You're well worth waiting for." He sighed, "Let's get our sorry asses home. I'm going to drop pretty soon."

"It's been a busy day," Jyuushiro agreed, and was relieved to get that belly laugh from Shunsui.

Together, leaning on each other, they walked to their room. And, once there, they got into separate futons and fell into an exhausted sleep, reiatsus mingling in the night.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Thanks to incandescens's _Imitate the Action of a Duck_, as well as her beta'ing and amazing editor-fu. This would not nearly be as tight as it is without her efforts.

Thanks to lj's azardarkstar for asking the military questions. I'd been thinking about how the military worked up to this point, but the questions helped me focus.

In the series, everyone's head goes up and they go, "Oh! That's so-and-so's reiatsu." So I figure they're all identifiable and all unique, so I just have Jyuushiro and Shinsui using the words and emotions they come up with for how they sense reiatsus. It's a bit like writing about tastes and flavors and scents when those things invoke memory as much as similarity.

I also know I'm not being true to the historical capabilities of Japan 2000 years ago. At least they had iron, rice, and fishing. But I've indulged in the technologies available: everything from the swords themselves to the dyeing techniques to the porcelain and the paper. Soul Society seems more technologically advanced than the living world, so I'll just leave it at that.


	9. Rescue Part 1

It was the last night of the month and Jyuushiro couldn't help noticing that Shunsui was restless. After studies or his track time, Shunsui usually bathed and napped or invited him out for a drink. This time, the big man was pacing their room, more like a caged tiger than the lazy cat he usually seemed.

Finally, after the footsteps jarred his concentration on his writing for the third time, Jyuushiro looked up at Shunsui. "What's up?"

Shunsui whirled at the words. "Why would anything be up?"

"Because you are."

Shunsui laughed. "It's all for love of you," he singsonged. At Jyuurhiro's eyeroll, he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Yes. Something is up, someone told me something and... and I... I don't know if I can handle it on my own."

"Tell me about it?"

Shunsiu looked at Jyuushiro, "I... I trust you with my life, with my honor, even, but... I just have to show you. I can't... can't just tell you..."

"You need to see me react to what's there, yourself?" Jyuushiro asked quietly.

Shunsui nodded. "Yes."

Jyuushiro sighed. He belted on his zanpakuto.

Shunsui blinked, "How did you know I'd ask you to do that?"

"You're actually being serious for once." Jyuushiro grinned, "That usually means I'm likely to get hurt. Give me a minute, I want to get a few things."

Shunsui sighed, "Just not too long, okay?"

"Right."

* * *

Shunsui led him out of the city at night, onto dark roads and then into a quiet forest and up a hill. The night air was cold and Jyuushiro was glad for both the extra layers he'd put on. Shunsui carried a shuttered lantern that he only let shine at the feet on the path. When firelight flickered through the darkness, and Shunsui put out the lamp and gave Jyuushiro the sign to stay very quiet. The two of them worked their slow way up to the crest of the hill while masking their reiatsu.

Jyuushiro hated not being able to feel where his roommate was by their reiatsu. He picked his slow way up the dark hill side, and had to rely on the small rustles of cloth, warmth of proximity, and what little sight he could get from the halo of light coming over the hill from the bonfire below.

Then they crested the hill.

The first thing Jyuushiro saw was two shivering kids, roped together by their hands, ducking back as a big man raised his fist.

Jyuushiro's hand was on his sword and his weight and center were already accelerating forward when Shunsui tackled him from the side.

Jyuushiro's logical brain finally caught up and ran through the list of the guards, the adults by the kids, the weapons being held on helpless ones... he hit the ground as silently as he could, knowing that any noise would ruin any chance of a surprise.

Shunsui breathed into his ear, "And they think _I'm_ the impulsive one..."

"There are _kids_," Jyuushiro whispered in anguish.

"Dirty slum kids," Shunsui murmured, "No one would care..."

Jyuushiro bucked against Shunsui's weight, angrier than he could even say.

"Tie it down," Shunsui snapped in a harsh whisper, "Can't have them know we're here."

Jyuushiro hastily yanked his reiatsu back in close and growled, "Why the fuck did you bring me if we're going to _walk away_?" The last came out with more anguish than he wanted.

"Because, stupid me, I had to figure out if you could care for kids that weren't from some noble family. I know you care about me, but I'm one of those clean, noble, upright..."

Jyuushiro elbowed Shunsui, and Shunsui had the decency to grunt softly at the force of it.

Shunsui rubbed the spot. "You really think the two of us could take them? There's also a pen of Hollows on the far side, four guards set at a perimeter all around the place, and at least four more guards in the cave itself, with the hostages."

"And it looks like one crossbowman up by the light," Jyuushiro sighed. "There's a platform up there." Then his ears caught up, "Hollows? Penned Hollows?"

"They feed the... captives to them at the end of the month if their families don't pay up," Shunsui's tone was as light as thistledown.

Jyuushiro took a big breath in and then slowly, very slowly let it out as he felt his body twist with the adrenaline that the statement brought. Shunsui tightened his grip. Jyuushiro whispered, "No... I'll... I'll be okay... I know what's at stake now and more of the odds."

Shunsui looked down at Jyuushiro, "How in all the nine hells did you get to be so pure? Lily white and shining, you look like a bit of soot would stain you, smudge you out; but it's all wrapped around a will of steel and a flame of a heart that can cleanse anything, even spilled blood..."

Jyuushiro gaped at his friend, "What? What does that have to do..." He shook his head to try and clear it, "... with anything?"

Shunsui shrugged, "I dunno. Hmmm... maybe I should have asked, 'How are we going to kill them all?'"

Jyuushiro eyed Shunsui warily and Shunsui just patiently looked back at him.

They both heard a scream of defiance and a thud of something hitting flesh.

"You take the whole perimeter. I'm going straight for the cave and the sharpshooter. Then kill the Hollows if we're not dead yet."

"_That_'s a plan?!" Shunsui cried. The chaos by the cave was providing plenty of cover for raised voices.

Jyuushiro ticked off on his fingers, "You've got the endurance for the long run. I don't. I'm fast and accurate. You hesitate. You don't have to kill the perimeter, just disable them from being able to communicate. Send a butterfly and we'll have backup if we fail."

There were cries down in the valley, more thuds, and Jyuushiro flinched at each one.

"Butterfly? You trust them to actually care?"

Jyuushiro met Shunsui's eyes. "Yes. About us, if not them." Shunsui nodded at that.

Jyuushiro opened a pouch, one of the things he'd collected in that last minute. A black Hell butterfly lighted on Jyuushiro's fingertips. He told it their location relative to the city, "This is a request for combat backup from Ukitake Jyuushiro and Kyoraku Shunsui. It is an endangered hostage situation. There are four Hollows as well." He told it to fly to Abe-san in the security offices. It left. Shunsui took that time to get off Jyuushiro.

"Let's go."

They went.

Jyuushiro took three shunpo steps as fast and as hard as he could. He never had enough time before his lungs closed down and he always had plenty of reiatsu, so he took to flash steps as a fish to water. He could do up to ten without straining too badly. When he got close to the bonfire by the cave, he got glimpses of what was going on.

Somehow, the girl and boy were the ones dealing those thudding blows on the guard. Even tied together and with their hands tied, they were... what the hell...

The girl leapt into the air and the boy braced both legs and helped swing her towards the guard by their joined wrists. She kicked the fat guard in the head so hard, his head snapped to the side with a sound that made Jyuushiro cringe.

She bent to pick up the guard's knife.

Jyuushiro heard the snap of a crossbow string. They probably couldn't have seen him, but her...

He pushed a shunpo step into a flat dive. He grabbed the girl and rolled forward wrapping his body around her in his arms. He heard the boy cry out as he was dragged alongside. He heard the thunk and quiver of the quarrel as it hit the ground where she had been.

His eyes met eyes that flickered gold from the bonfire. "Sniper," he murmured, and tumbled her to the side the boy was at.

Now that he'd been seen... Jyuushiro's target changed, and he leaped up to the sharpshooter's platform.

He chose to take the extra step so that he ended up five feet above the sharpshooter. His body flinched to the side before his brain even realized that the shooter was aiming right up at him. A line of fire bloomed along his cheek, even as he heard the whistle of the quarrel go by his ear.

Jyuushiro struck with all his killing intent.

Jyuushiro felt his blade cut through the whole upper torso of the man who had just almost killed him. He felt the initial impact, the snap of collar bones, the crack of shattered ribs, and the softer yield of tendon. He gave the trained extra snap to his wrists to get through the spine, not get stuck in it. He pulled through, using a sawing motion with the blade, along a rib, out the side.

What had been a man collapsed into two pieces.

Jyuushiro wiped his blade off on the jacket of the fallen man, and before his hands could start shaking, he leaped off the platform.

There were now four guards chasing the blond boy. It was like an insane game of tag, but with four "Its" with swords and knives. A fifth was already on the ground, the girl crouched over him, her eyes flat as she held the knife. Jyuushiro ran over to her and closed his hand around her wrist. "Don't... please. We need to arrest them, not kill all of them..."

She shook her head, pushed dark hair back from her eyes. Her eyes became more human, filled with... relief? "Yes," she said and then disappeared into a shunpo step again. She appeared and tripped one of the other guards, but the man rolled and was instantly back on his feet.

Jyuushiro attacked from behind, but with his yelled kiai, the man whirled. The girl grabbed at the guard's ankles, and he toppled. Jyuushiro cracked him on the head with the butt of the hilt of his word and the man stayed down.

One of the men chasing the boy saw Jyuushiro and charged him. Jyuushiro let him come at him. He then stepped towards the man, cutting across the threatening sword with his own. He knocked it away far enough he could swing the back of his sword at the other man's temple. It met with a thunk and the man dropped.

With just two left, the boy suddenly turned on the guard closest to catching him. He ran right at the guard and head-butted him in the groin. Jyuushiro winced in sympathy as the man just folded up, coughing in pain.

The last one pulled up short.

"How many more of you are there?" Jyuushiro barked while the man still looked off-center.

The guard hesitated and then bolted away into the forest. Jyuushiro sighed, flash stepped, and brought the man down with a quick clip to the jaw. He carried him back to where the other guards were and dumped him there.

"That was the last one, mister," the blond boy said. His eyes were deeply shaded by his hair even when he looked up at Jyuushiro.

Jyuushiro nodded. He took a shunpo step towards the Hollows' pen. He stopped, panting quietly, when he felt both the kids following him.

They stopped and looked up at him. Neither of them were even breathing hard, and the girl had to have taken at least as many flash steps as Jyuushiro had. He rethought his initial approach and, instead of ordering them to just stop and stay out of danger, he said, "Please keep the guards secured? I don't want to worry about the guards getting loose and attacking me from behind..."

They both looked taken aback and then the girl nodded. The boy's eyes narrowed. "You mean you don't want us in your way."

"If you like," Jyuushiro agreed pleasantly. "I haven't trained with either of you and I have trouble working in tandem with surprises."

"Don't we all," the girl muttered.

The boy blushed. "Aw... okay, mister. We'll tie 'em up with the rope from the other guys. Anyone we should look out for?"

"There should be a big man, dark hair, scruffy chin, in the same clothing I have on, coming in shortly. Just point him on in my direction?"

"Wait," the girl said in a voice that brooked no dissent.

Jyuushiro looked at her. She beckoned him down towards her, and when he knelt on one knee, she flicked the tip of a finger along the blood at his cheek and... bizarrely... tasted it. Then she nodded, "You're okay. We'll do as you ask."

The two kids took shunpo steps back to the clearing. Who were they? They didn't look much older than nine or ten... Jyuushiro shook his head. He had other things to worry about first, like the fact that his lungs were starting to tighten.

* * *

Shunsui wasn't worried at all.

He was terrified, angry, frustrated, mildly jealous, and busy. But he wasn't worried. Oh... and add freaked out to the list of emotions he was feeling.

Ever since he knocked Jyuushiro onto the ground, his zanpakuto had started talking to him. He couldn't always hear exactly what it was saying, but its tone echoed the other emotions running through him so well it was eerie. He was trying to stay on top of himself as well as that ranting, howling, questioning voice and it was hard. He'd let it take over when Jyuushiro had turned out to be far more than he'd expected, and he regretted doing that. Jyuushiro had looked at him as if he were some kind of freak until he'd gotten a handle on it.

Luckily, another part of his mind noted that the running was easy. The punishment running at school had worked wonders on his endurance in the last few weeks. He wasn't even breathing hard when he hit the first outpost.

There was only one man there. Who put sentries only one apiece? Cheap and stupid, damnit. But the man there was trained. Oh good. A fair fight was easier in a way, he didn't have be that much better to get around a flailing newbie and not hurt them too badly.

Shunsui liked fighting. His body reveled in it. He liked it enough that it scared him a little. Jyuushiro was right about the fact that he always hesitated in killing situations, he was always pulling back, just that last hit. Shunsui didn't like being seen the way Jyuushiro saw him, but... that didn't make it less true.

He charged in and his logical brain just sat back and watched. He felt all the blows, the blocks, and the darting strikes. He enjoyed the way his eyes, ears, even skin dictated the hard, fast, free motions of arms, legs, elbows, knees, and his whole center of balance. The logical part of his brain could just sit back and look for patterns and ways to break the opponent's patterns, while the rest of him just did what came naturally.

Ah... the guard's block to the right was a bit too high. Shunsui faked a straight stab to the man's right shoulder, and just as the other man started to block up, he dropped the tip of his blade and took the man in the thigh. He ran by, shouldn't have cut a vein on the outside, and as he whirled to face his opponent again, he simply brought the back of his sword into the side of the man's skull, trying to stun him without cutting him.

It worked. The man dropped like a poled ox. Good, no vein cut. It was bleeding, but no spurting. Shunsui ripped the sleeves off the man's outer kimono. He bandaged up the guard's leg and tied his hands together and was off to the next perimeter guard.

The running gave him more damned time to think... and he thought about the six weeks' worth of work, all blown at once. He'd first been drinking with the worst of the worst in the taverns around the edge of town. He'd heard about murders, robberies, things that chilled the blood, but even those guys wouldn't sit or talk or drink with some guys in the back corner of the Blind Drunk. Curiosity and weird rumors about captive Hollows had lured him on. He'd taken weeks to get familiar with them, and eventually found the whole horrible kidnapping scheme. It had then taken just as long to find the actual hideout, only to realize he couldn't do anything about it alone.

He'd almost done it anyway. He hadn't had any reason not to throw his life at something he might do some good at, until he'd been dragged into the tribunal.

The delay allowed Boss Hayate time to entrench himself even further. The site had more guards than Shunsui had expected.

He came on another guard. This one was far less skilled. Shunsui put away his blade. It groaned softly as it was sheathed and ran a chill up his spine.

Shunsui's hand to hand skills handled the guy easily. He tied up another unconscious body before sprinting to where the next should be posted.

Shunsui cursed when he couldn't find anyone at that site.

"Huh?" came from behind a tree, and a guy with his pants down peered around the tree, just in time to receive a kick to the solar plexus.

"Sorry," half-laughed Shunsui as he bound and gagged that one.

Last one... and again a run where he could think while his body pumped through the motions.

There was a part of him that was jealous of Jyuushiro's ability just decide and follow through on what was right. His friend's lightning quick judgment of the situation awed him and it angered him at the same time, because he hadn't been able to decide.

And Jyuushiro was the one that had taken the central attack. The key part of it all. "Glory hog," he said, even as he really didn't believe it. The logic behind the assignments Jyuushiro had made was pretty clear. But part of him ached and cried and moaned; oh... that was the zanpakuto, for the lost opportunity to be the hero instead of just the clean up man running thither and yon to keep the outposts from notifying the Boss.

Just as he confronted a very well-trained fourth and probably last outpost, the one nearest the compound, he felt Jyuushiro's reiatsu flare high.

Shunsui drew a blade that screamed with his own disappointment. They attacked together, he and the sword: they cut right through the other man's blade, and stopped just short of his heart.

"I can't," Shunsui whispered, even as the man fell. Shunsui pulled the blade out with a yank, whipping it through the air to get most of the blood off of it. He wiped the rest on the fallen man's sleeve, and sheathed the grumbling blade. He tossed the man over his shoulder, he couldn't leave him to die out here.

He started towards the main compound, sure it was going to be all secured by the time he got there, when he felt Jyuushiro's reiatsu collapse in on itself. Blown out rather than fading...

Shunsui cursed his legs, cursed the weight of the man, cursed Shiba-sama for not having been able to pound more shunpo into a reluctant student, and flashed away in an awkward, huge shunpo step.

_To be continued... _


	10. Rescue Part 2

Jyuushiro woke knowing that he absolutely had to get up.

But his body wasn't cooperating. Something grated when he tried to move his right leg, and the pain nearly made him pass out again.

He opened his eyes, and saw two small creatures jumping and harrying a Hollow. They were carrying a sword. His zanpakuto. He could feel it in an unexplainable part of himself, the small, hard, desperate hands on the steel of his own will.

Everything came back to his dazed brain. He looked behind him: the ten foot tall, log-pole pen wall was caved in behind him. He'd jumped into the pen and sliced into the head and mask of the nearest Hollow in text book manner, from behind. The bellow and dust of its death had alerted the other three.

He'd just charged the next nearest one, raising his reiatsu to put as much power as he could behind a frontal blow. It had worked. But his blade had gotten stuck in the mask for just long enough for the third of the Hollows to come up and bat him clear across the pen and into the wall.

Maybe he should have waited for Shunsui to finish the outposts, he thought as he pulled himself, painfully, into a half sitting position. Just because this had been the plan didn't mean it couldn't have changed...

The only good thing about all this was that the... uhm... rest had rested his lungs as well. He wasn't as close to a coughing fit as he'd been when he first jumped in the pen.

He shook his dazed head. Obviously the kids had come to help him. And it wasn't like he was in any shape to use the blade himself. He watched as, suddenly, the two small bodies dove together from above the Hollow. He saw a flicker of movement from the fourth Hollow in the corner behind them. But his attention was fully on all four hands on the hilt. They were trying to use their combined weights behind the blow. He narrowed his eyes and threw his will in with theirs. Suddenly he saw the ghosts of the two fish, the bright one behind the dark girl, the dark fish by the light-haired boy and he felt them push, too. The kids gave a high shout as the blade went right through the mask of the Hollow, piercing it through.

Immediately after the strike, he took one deep breath to center himself, and he put his hands out. "Oh rulers. He who is crowned with the name of man wears a mask of blood and flesh, and has ten-thousand fluttering wings. With truth and moderation, lightly scratch your nails against the wall of a dream that knows no sin!" His hand flared blue lightning and he shouted, "Destructive Art 33: Blue Fire, _Crash Down_!"

The lightning ball flew right by the kids and into the face of the fourth Hollow as it wound up to smash the kids. The ball only knocked it back, but the kids were warned, and it might...

The flare of Shunsui's reiatsu suddenly shone like a comet through the night. The Hollow turned to meet this bigger, new threat, and there was a big crack as Shunsui's zanpakuto cut right through the mask and head of the Hollow.

It fell to dust. Shunsui looked around. He paused at the sight of the two kids on a different pile of dust. He held his hand out for Jyuushiro's sword. The two kids handed it over. Jyuushiro closed his eyes at the feeling of the big, warm, calloused hand closing over the wrapped hilt, holding it with practiced ease. He opened them again to see Shunsui catch sight of where he sprawled against the logs.

Shunsui ran over to him. Jyuushiro looked up and said contritely, "Sorry. I should have waited for you."

The look on Shunsui's face was priceless.

"You're damned right you should have waited," he finally said. "Sometimes there are good reasons to... hesitate."

Jyuushiro winced. "You're right."

"And who are you?" Shunsui asked the two kids who were now tailing him.

"They saved me," Jyuushiro said softly.

"And stole your zanpakuto," Shunsui said and carefully handed it back to Jyuushiro, hilt first.

Jyuushiro sighed softly as he took his sword back. In his own hands again... and he sheathed it. He looked up at the kids.

They looked back. "Had to," the boy said. "Can't kill a Hollow without one."

"And we couldn't get in your way," pointed out the girl.

"You knew that how?" Jyuushiro asked gently.

"Well, your reiatsu..." the girl blinked suddenly and put her hands over her mouth.

"I'll repeat my companion's question. Who _are_ you two?" Jyuushiro asked, honestly curious now.

"Busted..." the boy murmured.

The girl punched the boy in the arm. Then she sighed and gave an extremely slight bow to the two of them. "I am Shihouin Yoruichi."

"'The heir to Shihouin.'" the boy said in a voice that imitated the strident tones of some major-domo.

Shunsui automatically went to his knees, head to the ground. Jyuushiro tried sitting up, but nearly passed out again.

"No!" she cried, and knelt by Jyuushiro, "Don't. I hate... this is so _stupid_!!"

Shunsui looked up and sighed and sat back on his heels, "I hate seeing young ladies in distress."

Jyuushiro asked, dizzily, "What the... what are you doing out _here_? They weren't holding you hostage or something, were they?"

The girl snorted, "They weren't that stupid. Though if big mouth here hadn't mouthed off at the guard, we'd have laid low until the rescue corps came for me."

The boy blushed, "But he was being mean to you." Shunsui shouldn't have been grinning at that, but he was, and the boy gave him a conspiratorial wink as well. Jyuushiro rolled his eyes.

"Okay... then who _is _Big Mouth here?" Shunsui asked.

The boy gave a small bow, low enough to be about on the same rank as Jyuushiro, "Urahara Kisuke, her highness' unofficial playmate. She sneaks out, we play, we sneak her back in, usually before her parents wake up. But..." he gave a wave at the brightening East horizon. "I'm afraid we're blown this time. Can you take me with you when her bodyguards come? I just need a ride back to the Academy, I can find home from there. Dad teaches there."

Shunsui shook his head as if a fly had just bitten him. "You were playing out here?"

"Uhm... well, we didn't know they were all here... we just needed an open space," the boy said.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Kisuke-kun was going to test something. He set stuff up, and while he was occupied with that, one of those goons just came up behind Kisuke-kun and knocked him out while I was wandering around looking at... well... flowers and trees. By the time I'd figured out what was going on, they threatened to kill him unless I got tied with him. So..." she shrugged, "I did. Figured it would buy us both the time needed for the rescue group or someone else to come."

"Please," she asked, "take him with you?"

Shunsui sighed, "I cannot refuse the request of any beautiful woman. You..." He pointed at Kisuke, "on my back. I don't want to lose you in the crowd that's going to appear."

Shunsui dropped to one knee, and peeled off the two outer, quilted layers of his kimonos. The boy hopped up against Shunsui's back, and Shunsui pulled the layers back on over the boy. "There."

"Thank you..." She let the thanks linger with a social implication far too old for her years.

Shunsui bowed with Kisuke on his back, not too low this time, "Kyouraku Shunsui at your service, ma'am."

Jyuushiro watched, bemused, and when those gold eyes turned toward him, he bowed his head as best as he was able, "I am Ukitake Jyuushiro."

"First or second year?" she asked.

"Second," they chorused.

"I want to go there, someday," she said wistfully.

Jyuushiro remembered the small hands on his blade, "You'll have no trouble getting in, Shihouin-sama."

The girl flinched a little at the honorific.

There were shouts from the clearing and the cave. "Backup," Shunsui said and ran towards the sounds, "Oi!!"

Jyuushiro watched Yoruichi, and watched as her carriage straightened and stiffened, her face grew still. Suddenly black-clad bodies appeared all around them and after dropping to their knees, kowtowed and then swept her up and shunpo'ed away as a group. Jyuushiro marveled at that level of coordination.

Just as suddenly, the whole group reappeared. Yoruichi was flushed, but her voice was even. "I want to stay with him. Get the palanquin to help with carrying him back. I'd like some privacy right now. Leave the required guard."

She was now wearing many layers of shining robes. At least she didn't look so cold anymore, Jyuushiro thought.

"Aye, Shihouin-sama." They poofed away again... and disappeared into the black and gray of the not-quite morning.

She sighed and sat on a smashed piece of log wall by his side, rumpling and probably snagging priceless silks.

"Tired?" Jyuushiro asked, companionably, "I'm pretty exhausted."

"Yes," she said softly. "I'm tired. But... they're going to watch me even more closely, now." Her slender back slumped.

She stiffened again as Abe-san and his small force came over the hill. Then came a monster of a palanquin and a small crowd of other people including Nakamura Kiyoko and Sato Saburou. Saburou was looking harried and pale. His hands were covered in blood. Kiyoko was joking with one of the troopers, but her face stilled when she saw Jyuushiro. When he grinned wryly at her, she grinned back and shook her head.

"Waal, boy, least this time it's an honest battle wound," she said, half laughing as she came up.

He didn't contradict her. "I can't move my right leg," he offered, instead.

"Tsk," she said and gently undid his hakama on that side. She peeled back layers of hakama and kimono underneath. Jyuushiro cried out when her hands probed and he felt things move in his thigh. "Shush... shush..." she said softly, "Ahh... damn." She looked up at the men around them, "I need two of you."

"Is it going to put him out?" Abe-san asked.

"Hopefully," she said with a cheerful chirp that made Jyuushiro very uneasy.

"I need to talk with him, first," Abe-san said, firmly. "Kyouraku-kun's told us about his investigation and his part in it, but I need to know what happened with Ukitake-kun for the records for the trial."

Kiyoko threw up her hands, "Okay, go for it."

Then all eyes swung to Jyuushiro, who succinctly gave the sequence of his attacks. He didn't actually describe what the kids had done, just left it out of what he could of it.

But when he got to the crossbowman, Abe-san knelt down next to him, "He nicked you?"

"Yeah. Here." Jyuushiro touched his cheek and winced as he realized the blood had run all the way down the side of his face.

Then Abe-san reached forward and rubbed his finger against Jyuushiro's chin, and, just like the girl had, he tasted the blood.

"Why are you doing that?" Jyuushiro asked, disturbed.

"To see if the bolt was poisoned," Abe-san said, "It's not. We'd have had to get you back fast, otherwise."

"Poisoned." Jyuushiro clamped his jaw as his body shook for a moment. "I hadn't... thought of that."

"At least you took care of him, properly," one of the troopers with Abe-san said. "One blow, even. Neat work."

Jyuushiro shook his head, "No... it was... I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to kill him, but I was too stupid to figure out a good way to disable him and keep him out of the way and still deal with the rest of the guards. He was too dangerous. He really knew what he was doing." Remembering how nearly the bolt had missed, and then the killing, his shaking got that much worse.

Abe shook his head, "That everyone could be that stupid." He caught Jyuushiro's eyes, "You did the right thing. The hard thing, but you did it. Got it?"

Jyuushiro nodded. "Got it, sir."

"It'll still come up at their trial, but there's plenty here that will vouch for the need."

"Thank you, sir."

Kiyoko sighed, "Y'all done, now?"

"Yes, Nakamura-san," Abe said. He levered himself back to his feet. "What do you need again?"

"I need someone to find a stick. I need one man to sit on him and one man to pull his leg so we can get the ends of the bone to line up. Then I'll set it. He'll still need to stay off it for the trip back, but tha' monster palanquin should work just dandy." She turned towards Jyuushiro. "This is gonna hurt like hell, but it'll stabilize you for the trip. It'll fix the ends, so they can't scramble the inside of your leg."

Jyuushiro sighed, "Wouldn't want that."

"No, sir," she said with a twinkle. She handed Jyuushiro the stick, "Between the teeth, you know the drill."

Jyuushiro rolled his eyes, put the stick between his teeth and lay back and saw Shunsui looking down at him, with the blond boy looking over his shoulder. Shunsui shook his head, and then addressed Kiyoko, "You want someone sitting on his..."

"Hips, I think, anchor that end of his leg. You kin go face to face with him if you don't wanna watch me... uhm... move things around."

Shunsui let the boy off his shoulders, first. Then Shunsui sat down, legs on either side of Jyuushiro's hips, hard weight right on, oh gods, thought Jyuushiro. Shunsui smiled innocently down at Jyuushiro. Jyuushiro wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh, or cry, or curse, or gods bless the damned distraction Shunsui was providing... and they started pulling on his leg. Jyuushiro grabbed Shunsui's hand and that hard, calloused hand gripped his own back, and he concentrated on that contact and not screaming too loudly when it felt like they were going to just rip his leg right off.

He blacked out, mercifully, right when he felt the grinding of his bones going back together.

* * *

When Jyuushiro came to for the second time that night, he sighed, "I'd hate to make a habit of this." 

"Ah, Ukitake-san, you are awake?" said a very soft voice.

That's when Jyuushiro realized that the world wasn't moving just because he was dizzy. The world swayed with a gentle rhythm. He looked around and saw that right next to his side was a small throne, and in it was Yoruichi. The palanquin was surrounded by eight men holding it up and a few more people holding up lights for those that carried it.

"Yes, I think so," Jyuushiro said. Experimentally, he pulled himself up to a sitting position and gingerly moved his right leg. He sighed when it moved and didn't feel like it was going to fall off. It was still sore, though.

"No jumping, long-distance walking, or standing for a long time until you get another healing session in," said Shunsui's voice off to the side. "Kiyoko said it's just stabilized with what they could do, not healed." There was soft snoring coming from the same direction: the boy must be asleep.

"Thank you... Kyouraku-san," Jyuushiro said, tiredly, just too aware of all the ears and eyes around them to use the familiar term of address. But then he was suddenly aware of Shunsui's hurt and sudden doubt through his reiatsu. "Oh, gods," he said and put the heels of his hands on his eyes. Jyuushiro reached out with his reiatsu and gently wrapped a tendril of it around Shunsui in apology and he felt his roommate relax again.

The slender, tiny enrobed body slipped from the throne and knelt by his side. "Now you know how I feel all the time," she said, wryly. "These are my honored retainers: they are as discreet as the grave, or they know that they will soon be in one."

There were a few chuckles around them. "Aye, Shihouin-sama," murmured a few.

"Would you be so kind as to lie down again, Ukitake-san?" Yoruichi asked. "I wouldn't want your friend to be upset with me for letting you get injured again."

That kind of diction coming from a little girl rattled Jyuushiro, but he lay down again on the pad set up on the platform. A small, cool hand slipped into his hand and he gently clasped it, realizing she had nearly as many callouses as he had but in different places. He closed his eyes and tried to collect himself. Shunsui's reiatsu smoothed out as well through the tendrils he'd entwined with Jyuushiro's. Jyuushiro sighed, "Thank you, Shihouin-sama."

"You are very formal with everyone, aren't you, Ukitake-kun?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," said Shunsui's voice in the darkness, "Jyuushiro has a stick up his ass, but he means well by it."

Jyuushiro was very impressed that none of the retainers even cracked a grin, much less a snicker. Maybe they could just talk... "Language, Shunsui..."

"See?" Shunsui's glee in getting to say that warmed Jyuushiro unexpectedly.

There was a delightful giggle from the girl next to him. "I see. I'm glad you can... relax a bit." Then her tone changed, wistful, "Ukitake-san, could you find it in your heart to call me Yoruichi-chan?"

The tone of her voice made him think very hard about honorifics and the level of address that might match both what she was asking and not make him out to be a complete ass. His head hurt, but he finally said, "Yes, perhaps... if you would please call me Shiro-kun instead of Ukitake-san."

The slender hands pressed gently against his. "I would really like that, Shiro-kun."

"Then it would be my pleasure, Yoruichi-chan," he said quietly. Then, greatly daring, "Can you visit the Academy sometime, Yoruichi-chan?" he asked. In the gradually growing light, he saw Shunsui's gaze swing towards him, wondering.

"Sometimes. Yes." Her voice firmed on the affirmative.

"Shunsui, here, knows some of the most amazing flowering trees in the area. Shiba-kun has a beautiful garden that he cares for along with his uncles. Kyuu-kun knows of a mountain waterfall with a pond that is perfect for swimming in. I have a few cousins that would love to play. And I found some koi in one of the school ponds that love to get fed cooked rice... would you want to see those with me?"

"The... entourage would have to come along."

"Well, if they're as thoroughly discreet as they are at this moment, I'd have no objections, whatsoever. Maybe we could all play a few games of tag?" Jyuushiro grinned as he heard at least one groan.

"Oh! I'd love that. I accept your invitation, Shiro-kun. That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Good, then it's a plan," Jyuushiro said.

He lay back and watched black sky turn that deep, impossible shade of blue, even as it remained black on the western edge. The silver sky in the east shone and then glowed deeper, edging the world in gold and pinks as the sun's edge gradually crept up and shone.

"How beautiful," Yoruichi said.

"Yes," he said. And then he looked at her, and the light touched purple hair and eyes of gold that were filled with wonder. "Very beautiful indeed." She saw him looking at her and she laughed and blushed pink, but turned back to the wonder of the sun beginning the new day.

* * *

Jyuushiro managed the short walk through the dorm to their room. The palanquin had dropped them off by the door to the dorm. Curious students had ogled the procession as it made its stately way away with a wave of the Yoruichi's hand. 

Jyuushiro made a nest on his own futon of the quilts, and motioned Shunsui over so that Jyuushiro could carefully lift the boy from Shunsui's back. Shunsui had to take the limp boy back in order to lay him into the nest, though, as Jyuushiro's leg could not support the motion.

"You're sleeping with me?" Shunsui asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you're okay with it. I don't think I can molest you with this." Jyuushiro indicated the stiffening leg.

"Too bad," Shunsui said lightly, "I guess I can't molest you, either, with that."

They stripped and got in. Jyuushiro yelped as cold toes landed on his calves, but he really couldn't turn around with that leg. He grabbed a bit behind him with his cold hands, and got a yelp as well before he found an arm and pulled it over his side, around him.

"You... sat on me," Jyuushiro said, as if that justified the cold hand.

"You said I hesitate," Shunsui said, pulled him closer. Jyuushiro yielded to the pull and snuggled up close to Shunsui's warmth.

Jyuushiro gradually stopped shivering, "You didn't with the Hollow."

"They would have died and then you would have died, if I had," Shunsui said against Jyuushiro's hair. Then, slower, "But... you were right, too, that was what made it so galling. I did hesitate with someone else, but I didn't think I had to kill him the way you had to with yours."

Jyuushiro shuddered quietly at that and burrowed closer. "That was the hardest thing I've ever done, I think," he said.

"But you did it."

"Yeah... I think... like you, I had to."

"Like me..." Shunsui said slowly and then nodded against Jyuushiro's hair again.

Jyuushiro drowsed, near sleep when Shunsui suddenly said, "Are you sure you know what you're doing with Shihouin-sama, Jyuushiro? She's awfully young to be..." Shunsui hesitated.

"She is very young, isn't she?" Jyuushiro said quietly. "She's a girl, a child. She should be playing with flowers, dolls, painting, writing, laughing with friends, not having to choose if she has to kill someone or not."

"But you had to kill someone."

"But I'm trained to."

"She probably is, too," Shunsui said soberly.

Jyuushiro sighed. "Yes. But to have to make those choices when... when she might not even know why... that's just too hard for me to just..."

"... stand by and let it happen, hm." Shunsui said wearily.

Jyuushiro nodded. "I guess it is that."

"Thank you," Shunsui said, "I cursed you, too, but... really... I should thank you."

"For what?"

"For deciding. For just charging ahead. I couldn't have done it alone."

Jyuushiro thought, and his tired brain slipped him poetry, "Oh. Does this have to do with that question you asked me when you had me pinned?"

"What?" Shunsui sounded bewildered.

"That... shining and burning stuff... and how could I be so pure..." Jyuushiro sighed, "I didn't get it, at all, but I think I'm starting to figure out why you asked. But... I don't know the answer, either." This was hard going, Jyuushiro realized he didn't usually talk about himself this way. It was all coming out chopped up, but Shunsui deserved some kind of answer. "Some of it... some of it is that I always feel like my time is so damned short... I'm not going to last forever against anything... some of it... I guess I just have to believe whatever I do will make a difference. The rest..." Jyuushiro just shrugged.

"You believe," Shunsui said.

"Yeah. I guess I do. So you're very welcome, Shunsui. I'm glad you trusted me enough to show me what was going on. I am honored."

"But you still should have waited for me, before attacking the Hollows," Shunsui said, his tone light.

"Yup." Jyuushiro laughed, "I will repeat after you. I should have waited for you before attacking the Hollows."

Shunsui snorted and hugged Jyuushiro tight. "I'm just glad you're still here," he said softly and Jyuushiro felt him shiver once, hard, before relaxing into their shared warmth and falling asleep. Jyuushiro followed his friend gladly.

* * *

**

* * *

Acknowledgements**

Many thanks to incandescens for her mighty editor-fu and for betaing the story. To lj's sophiap's comment on the second chapter about a mostly missing Shunsui prompted this chapter, pretty much. Also lj's shadowgirl1605's story _Midnight Meeting_ helped me figure out that the kids weren't just any kids.

Thank you, so much.


	11. Cold

The first hard cold snap of the year brought along with it the first round of colds to the Academy's students. People started going through the hallways, along the pathways, and in the corridors of the school sneezing, coughing, and sniffling. Both Shunsui and Jyuushiro woke up the same morning with sore throats and sniffles.

"Ugh," Shunsui said. "This is such a pain, we're supposed to get that special assignment today." He had to dig through his foot locker, but he managed to find a clean handkerchief.

Jyuushiro sat at his desk looking pensive and a little sad. "Yeah. I really wanted to go, too."

"Well, just a cold isn't going to stop you, is it?" Shunsui asked, and then sneezed explosively. "I'm going to class, it's just a cold." He blew vigorously and started getting the books and his notes for the class together.

Jyuushiro grinned, lopsidedly, at Shunsui. "Yeah... maybe. I'll come to class at least."

They filed in with everyone else and settled behind the desks, as Yamamoto came in with the old guard. The old guard eyed Jyuushiro, and Jyuushiro looked like he was trying to hide behind his desk. Shunsui couldn't understand why Jyuushiro was so skittish.

The old guard spoke quietly to Yamamoto, and Yamamoto's eyes narrowed. He beckoned to Jyuushiro, "Come here, Ukitake-kun."

Jyuushiro's face fell. Shunsui frowned and bit his lip. Jyuushiro had to go by him to get out of the row. Shunsui couldn't help it; he gently grasped his friend's hand as he went by. Jyuushiro gave him a quiet smile, gently squeezed his hand, and then kept going towards Yamamoto.

On the way Jyuushiro pulled out his handkerchief and sneezed into it. Both Yamamoto and the old guard nodded at that. Yamamoto then said, "I am sorry, Ukitake-kun, but I am going to have to make it a direct order that you go to the infirmary."

Jyuushiro's mouth opened, and then closed, along with his eyes. The other students in the class sat up. Jyuushiro took a breath, coughed once, and then opened his eyes and nodded. "Yes, sir. I understand, I think."

The old guard patted Jyuushiro on the shoulder. "It's for your teammates' safety as well as your own. I don't want to risk us having to haul you miles back on limited resources."

"Ah," Jyuushiro's head bowed just a bit more at that. "Thank you, sir. That makes it very clear."

Shunsui stood up. "But... sirs... it's just a cold."

"Kyouraku-kun, for you it is just an inconvenience, certainly. For Ukitake-kun, it is a different matter. I am making it a direct order so that he cannot be seen as shirking his duties, but I will not have him going on the winter training exercise with you." Yamamoto was maddeningly calm.

"Why, sir?" Shunsui asked, knowing that all the other students' eyes were on him.

Yamamoto thumped his walking stick on the floor and his reiatsu started to simmer with temper. "Because it is necessary, and I have the experience and authority to make the order."

Shunsui wanted to say, _So it's just you throwing your weight around? _But he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. He'd never seen Yamamoto just use his authority in order to prove that authority. He sat down. That was when he saw Jyuushiro; his eyes were smiling even as his mouth was still formally straight. Defeated on both fronts, Shunsui put his head in his hands, and listened to Jyuushiro leave.

"Now, we shall go over the packing list and plan for the exercise. This is my long-time tactical specialist, Uekiya Daisuke-san." Yamamoto indicated the old guard.

Daisuke gave a bow to the class. "You may call me Daisuke-san, please. I am honored to be able to teach you, and I will do my best."

They all stood up to bow back, according to their station.

Daisuke took a stance of relaxed attention with the ease of someone who could hold it for hours. "Thank you. I'll be the one to lead you on this winter's exercise, as it is a training exercise in the tactics of rough ground, cold weather, and how to survive in such conditions. You had one outdoor exercise with Yamamoto-sama this fall, but this one'll be different, as there are many technical aspects to this exercise that will change because of the conditions. You've practiced most of these techniques in warm and comfortable situations. Now you will use them in real situations."

"The main plan is to leave from here tomorrow morning, and go out into the forests north of Rukongai. We will then head further north towards Iriai Mountain. We won't make it but a few thousand feet up, but it will be snowy conditions and enough rough terrain and slopes for you to get a good idea of what to do when you're out there."

Kenshin raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Sir, why are we going out there? Isn't our duty to just protect the souls in Seireitei?" Kenshin asked, brow furrowed.

Daisuke looked taken aback. Yamamoto coughed. "No, Shiba-kun. The long-term plans are to clear all of Soul Society and the lands around it of Hollows."

Kenshin frowned deeper. "Sir, you mean we're going to even protect the scum in the high numbered districts of Rukongai?"

Shunsui's fists tightened at the words. He suddenly realized that without Jyuushiro in the room, Kenshin was saying something he thought every noble in the room would agree with.

Yamamoto sighed, "Yes, Shiba-kun. We will go even further than that, to the rice farmers on the paddies and the fisherman out in the Hatsuzora shores. We will destroy Hollows until they cannot live in our lands and cannot destroy souls without looking over their shoulder for us anywhere we can reach."

Kenshin looked shocked. "We're going to risk our lives to protect thieves, whores, and those stupid poor people?"

Shunsui nearly punched Kenshin. Instead, his hand shot up.

Yamamoto eyed the hand. "Do you wish to answer that question, Kyouraku-kun? Or do you have another?"

"I believe Jyuushiro had an answer, Yamamoto-sama." Shunsui said lightly. Yamamoto nodded at him to continue.

The details of the rescue of the hostages had been released to the tactics class as one of their study cases the previous week. Shunsui had read it in disbelief when it had commended him, Shunsui, on his patient and dogged investigation to get to the root of the problem, rather than being distracted by the lower level criminals around him. The actions the two had taken were a dry list of criminals captured and the one man killed by Jyuushiro. It had simply mentioned Jyuushiro's injury in helping Shunsui close the case properly. Shunsui felt as if the report had missed everything important, but he hadn't quite known what to say about it.

"Ukitake?" asked Kenshin, "He saved Shihouin-sama. He killed the gangster, which was pretty impressive. But what does that have to do with the scum?"

"He didn't know that the girl was Shihouin-sama, she was dressed in rags along with all the other hostages in the cave, Shiba-kun. He thought they were Rukongai street brats," Shunsui said softly, watching Kenshin's eyes. "Just like I did."

"But Ukitake's just low house. Maybe he thought he was saving some of his enormous family or something." Kenshin's voice was now doubtful.

"You..." Shunsui knew Jyuushiro wouldn't want him thrown out of the winter exercise before he even got to go, so he stopped himself. "I started it."

Kenshin finally looked Shunsui in the eyes. "Why?"

Shunsui saw Daisuke just shake his head and cover his eyes. That allowed Shunsui to slouch and smile as he looked back at Kenshin. "Because I thought they were worth more than you."

Kenshin clenched a fist, and remembered where he was. "And I thought you'd have a serious answer. How can some dirty, starving, penniless, useless, weak slummy be worth anything, much less the life of a noble?"

Kaoru stirred and addressed Shunsui. "I am quite interested in your answer as well, Kyouraku."

Kali was frowning quietly to herself, but Hayato's sharp gaze focused closely on Shunsui. Shunsui wondered if he was leaking killing intent and Kenshin was just too dense to notice it. Kali and Hayato were particularly sensitive.

"It's worth my honor," Shunsui said simply, looking more at Kaoru than Kenshin. "As a noble, I have a responsibility to all those that seek protection under my Family's name. As someone with strength, equipment, and training I owe it to myself to use these gifts to the advantage of the whole of Soul Society. Not just the ones I deem worthy or not."

Kaoru dark gray eyes met Shunsui's brown, and the heavy lids dipped in quiet acknowledgement.

Shunsui saw Hayato lean back with a quiet breath. Kali stopped looking quite so distracted.

Kenshin frowned. "I think I kinda get that..."

Daisuke sighed, "Please, let's get back on topic." The unassuming old man, took out a few pages. "These are the packing lists and the place where we will meet before going on our trip. Please have all these items packed and on you. I do not need to say that you should bring your zanpakutou with you, we do not know exactly what we'll meet out there."

Shunsui took two copies of the lists: Jyuushiro would probably be interested in the details, even if he couldn't go. Everyone looked at the lists. Kali raised her hand, tentatively.

"Yes?"

"Do we really need this many pairs of tabi?" Kali asked, looking puzzled.

"Yes." Daisuke's face relaxed into a smile, "You will need every pair."

* * *

The room felt too empty when Shunsui got back to it after classes and Jyuushiro wasn't there. He packed quietly, sniffling and sneezing, and when he was done he had no other homework. He thought a moment, tucked the lists into his inner kimono, and then walked the cold walk to the infirmary with a shuttered lantern. 

Winter had settled through Seireitei. The snow crunched beneath his thick straw waragutsu. The shape of the kanjiki snowshoes intrigued Shunsui and he wondered how hard they'd be to wear and walk in; but the snow around the city wasn't thick enough to support the webs easily. Shunsui had on several layers and a fur-side-in pelt coat. He pulled up his scarf as a wind kicked up and swirled white flakes against the black sky.

He got to the infirmary and opened the door. A blast of wind and snow swirled in after him, and the girl at the front desk squeaked, "Close that!"

He did, as quickly as he could, and smiled at her. "Sorry, beautiful Chika-chan." He slouched to rest his elbow on the desk and his chin on his hand so that he wasn't quite as intimidating. "Would you please let me see Jyuushiro?"

She blushed, "But it's not visiting hours anymore."

"Well, it's not like he's in any danger, is he? And I brought a class assignment for him." Shunsui waved the papers before her nose quickly enough that she couldn't read them.

"Well, if you have school work..." She sounded reluctant, so Shunsui gave her his most winning smile, brushing his fingers along her cheek and jaw. She closed her eyes. "Room 129."

"Thank you very much." Shunsui breezed into the corridor and walked down the silent, darkened hallway until he came to Jyuushiro's room. He knocked gently on the door.

"Come in," Jyuushiro said, sounding distracted.

Shunsui slid open the door, and peeked in. Jyuushiro was sitting up in his futon with a backrest cushion. He was reading a book on a cushion, but his hands were working so quickly that Shunsui had to move close to see what it was his roommate was doing. Shunsui left his shoes outside the doorway, next to Jyuushiro's, and entered.

"You're knitting," Shunsui said, dumbfounded.

Jyuushiro gave a grin and a nod to Shunsui. "What? You've never knit tabi for pocket money?"

"Uhm... well, no, now that you mention it. They just kind of get... delivered." Shunsui wrinkled his nose, "I never really thought about where they come from. How did you get those... sticks?" He shed his coat and a few of his outer layers, and folded them into a pile on the floor in a corner of the room. He blew out the lantern and set it by his clothing. He took a deep breath and finally relaxed. He'd missed feeling Jyuushiro's reiatsu and now it surrounded him.

"Fire hardened bamboo, cut and then polished and finished. My uncle makes lots of them, they sell really well so he keeps the prices pretty reasonable." Jyuushiro coughed lightly. He found a handkerchief and blew his nose. He put it away again and his slender white fingers flew over the needles as he read.

"How do you do that?" Shunsui put his head down on the futon so that he could watch Jyuushiro's eyes. Those brown eyes looked at him and one black eyebrow raised.

"What? The knitting or the reading? You know how to read..."

"The knitting while you read, you don't even have to look." Shunsui grinned at Jyuushiro's eye roll.

Jyuushiro stifled another cough. "Practice."

Shunsui snorted and knelt by the futon. "That's no answer."

"Do you need to look, now, to draw your zanpakutou?" Jyuushiro asked while looking up at Shunsui. Jyuushiro's fingers still flew, and suddenly, he changed sticks, hands moving smoothly from one set of sticks to the other, yarn still wrapped neatly about his left hand. He kept looking up at Shunsui while he did the transfer.

"No. But…" Shunsui frowned, "I guess I couldn't do that to start."

"Practice." Jyuushiro's eyes went back to his text book, and his breath hitched as he had another small cough.

Shunsui eyed Jyuushiro, "You're coughing."

"I am?" Jyuushiro's eyebrows drew together as he coughed again. "I am." He tried a deep breath, and ended up coughing harder. He fought it down. "It's what usually happens when I have a cold."

Shunsui sighed quietly and moved so that he was sitting next to Jyuushiro. He was not quite close enough to get in the way of Jyuushiro's arms and hands, but definitely close enough to bask in Jyuushiro's calm, deep resting reiatsu again. Jyuushiro chuckled and coughed and rolled his eyes, and then reached down to tug at Shunsui's leg. "I need your foot."

Shunsui complied, turning his body so that he could give Jyuushiro his foot. Jyuushiro rolled the top of Shunsui's tabi down his leg, and then pulled the tabi off of his foot. He then took his work and pulled the open tube end, away from the spiky bits, over Shunsui's foot, over his ankle, and then up his calf. The fabric was thick and stiffer than what Shunsui was used to from his bought socks. The sock looked gold in the lamplight rather than the usual white.

"What is it made of?" Shunsui asked, and wiggled his toes, which were protruding between the sticks.

"Oak leaf silk," said Jyuushiro, pursing his lips in thought. He coughed softly under his breath. "There's a type of silkworm that eats oak leaves instead of mulberry leaves, so it takes on the hue of the autumn oak leaf instead of being pure white. It's a bit coarser than mulberry silk, but that's a useful trait for tabi." He measured what was left of Shunsui's toes. "Hmmm… I can probably finish this pair for you if you want to wait for just an hour or so."

"Can I lie around you or something, so I'm not in the way and can see?" Shunsui asked, knowing he sounded a little plaintive, but not really caring. They were going to be apart for a week for the first time since the whipping. He'd take what time he could.

"Sure." Jyuushiro pulled the back support out from behind himself, crossed his legs, and raised his hands so that Shunsui could lie on his side and wind himself around his friend. He laid his head on Jyuushiro's right thigh. Shunsui put his top arm along his side and behind Jyuushiro's back, the other he tucked under Jyuushiro's folded leg. Shunsui sighed and relaxed for the first time this day.

Jyuushiro ruffled Shunsui's hair. "Was it rough?"

"Yeah. Kenshin turned into an asshole again." Shunsui used his free arm to get into his kimono and pulled out the papers from class. "Here."

Jyuushiro took the papers and propped them up on his left knee. Shunsui watched Jyuushiro's eyes scanning the lines. A black eyebrow went up, "Well, I'm glad I decided to make these your length."

"Mmmm.. yeah, even Kali-chan said it seemed like way too many tabi," Shunsui mumbled.

"Hmmm... and no tents?" Jyuushiro frowned a little at that.

"Daisuke-san had gotten reports that the snow is thick enough up there for us to use the snow shelters like the ones we built down here for practice," Shunsui said. "They are warmer."

Jyuushiro chuckled and coughed again and leaned back against Shunsui's warmth, abandoning his reading efforts. His fingers flew faster. Shunsui was fascinated by how the big toe suddenly grew from the body of the sock. The toes soon followed, not quite as quickly as the big toe, but still faster than Shunsui expected. Jyuushiro then used a sewing needle to finish the end of the toes.

Wordlessly, Jyuushiro stretched to the left to reach Shunsui's nearest foot. He smoothed the sock back on Shunsui's foot. The big toe of the sock fit to the root of his big toe. The toes of the tabi hugged his toes gently. The arch of his foot was wrapped in a thick swath of smooth fabric, and the tops of the tabi stretched easily over the big part of Shunsui's calf.

"That feels great," Shunsui said.

"Are you going to sleep here tonight?" Jyuushiro asked quietly. He took the new sock off of Shunsui's foot and put the old one back on it. He picked up another tube with a heel. Shunsui frowned as he watched his friend's hands. Jyuushiro somehow started loading his knitting sticks with stitches from an end tangled with some red thread.

Shunsui roused, "Uhm... I could, I guess."

"Given that Chika-chan let you in at all, I suspect that you could," Jyuushiro said quietly as another big toe started to grow from one end of the open tube. "But I'll probably be coughing all night, and it might keep you awake when you'll need your sleep before tomorrow."

"You sound like my mother," Shunsui teased. and then he sneezed and pulled out his handkerchief and blew.

Jyuushiro laughed, "I sound like my mother. That's a little frightening." He stroked Shunsui's hair and Shunsui's throat tightened. "I'm just wondering if I should kick you out for your own good so you can get over your cold quicker, or keep you here for my own selfish reasons." He coughed again.

Shunsui looked up at Jyuushiro. The two of them had gotten closer in the last few months, more nights just sleeping in the same bed together, more quiet touches when they were alone in their room; but Jyuushiro had still held back, begging for more room, more time. It made Shunsui ache so badly, he almost put a fist through a wall on more than one occasion. Now Jyuushiro wanted him for _selfish _reasons?

Jyuushiro shook his head. "I shouldn't keep you here. I'm getting... " He stopped and watched his knitting for a bit. With a whipping motion, he used a needle with an eye to close off the big toe. He got to work on the toes grew quickly.

"Tired?" Shunsui asked, frowning.

Jyuushiro's eyes widened.

Shunsui waited but Jyuushiro said nothing else. "What then?"

"I think I depend on you too much," Jyuushiro said softly. "I missed you today." His eyes closed even as his fingers still flew. "I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself for the next week, without you here." Jyuushiro opened his eyes and grinned, abashed. "It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud."

"It is kinda stupid," Shunsui said with his best smile.

At the smile Jyuushiro's hands slowed, stilled. He looked at Shunsui with that look that Shunsui felt could pierce armor, bone, and flesh. That look that always got past his defenses, his façade, and saw him for who and what he really was in a way no one else could see. Shunsui held back the shiver, the ache that bloomed in his heart, but knew that Jyuushiro would see it in his eyes.

Shunsui whispered, "Because I felt exactly the same way about you, all day. Stupid. When I actually hit a target with kido, when I got five flash steps in a row, when I got back to that cold, dark, empty room, when I walked alone under that freezing, star-lit sky, and when I thought about how lonely and beautiful the wind sounded in the trees; I thought about you. I thought about wanting to share it all with you and I couldn't."

Jyuushiro's lips parted and his eyes went to Shunsui's lips. Jyuushiro bent and when he couldn't quite bend far enough, his fingers tangled in Shunsui's hair. Shunsui cried out softly as he rose with the pull to meet Jyuushiro's kiss. But rather than the fire and power he'd come to expect out of the slender man, those smooth lips ghosted softly, so softly over his in a kiss so tender, so slow, so sweet he trembled. Jyuushiro kept the kiss going, soft and slow, as he turned his body so that his hips, his lap, were under Shunsui's upper body. He wrapped his arms around Shunsui, easily supporting his weight. Shunsui wrapped his arms around Jyuushiro. That's when Shunsui discovered the rather unmistakable evidence that Jyuushiro really wanted him.

Shunsui let his mouth open just a bit to that gentle, so soft kiss, but Jyuushiro just slowly tasted first his lower lip and then his upper. Then Jyuushiro turned violently to the side and started coughing again.

Shunsui closed his eyes and leaned his head against Jyuushiro's chest. His own breathing was ragged, but he heard Jyuushiro's breath rasp softly within his chest.

"I'm sorry," Jyuushiro said when he could finally breathe again and he leaned against Shunsui.

"Me, too. You're in no shape for this." Shunsui sighed and hugged Jyuushiro tightly. "I guess I'll go back and go to sleep by myself. Probably better for both of us. I'm going to be out there for a week, I'd better be able to handle one night."

Jyuushiro laughed ruefully. "Probably." He sighed. "Take care. I'll be thinking of you."

Shunsui sighed and nodded. "While I'm out in knee-deep snow I'll probably be thinking of you here, too. Warm and comfy and knitting."

"Oh!" Jyuushiro picked up the discarded second sock and with a few more stitches, handed it over. "There. Maybe you'll be grateful I can knit when you're out there in these." He laughed and coughed another quiet string of coughs.

"Maybe," Shunsui said as he put his coat and layers back on, picked up and lit his lantern, and went to the door to get his shoes. He tucked his new pair of tabi carefully into a sleeve. He wondered how much money Jyuushiro usually got for his work, and what it meant to him to give that up for a friend. "I'll see you."

"Yeah, I'll see you," Jyuushiro said.

Shunsui stepped out into the dark hallway. He slid closed the door, and walked back to Chika-chan. He smiled at her and she smiled back. For an instant, Shunsui was tempted to try and seduce her for real, not just the play and grab everyone expected of him. He could see her bracing herself for it already. But she was on duty, and he really did need his rest tonight. He couldn't bring himself to disappoint her expectations, though.

Shunsui widened his smile and spread his hands and said, "Lovely Chika-chan, wouldn't you want to share your womanly warmth with a poor, cold student the night before a long winter trek?" He waggled his eyebrows.

She giggled and blushed and squealed when he reached for her. She slapped his hand, hard enough to sting.

He put on his mournful look, but smiled with his eyes so she wouldn't feel too guilty. "Aww... well. Have yourself a good night, Chika-chan."

She blushed again and said, softly, "Good night, Kyouraku-kun."

Shunsui stepped out and the cold bit deep. He was glad of it, as it helped tame the arousal he'd gotten while in Jyuushiro's arms. Shivering, he got back to the dorms, and arrived in his cold, dark room, empty of that sea-calm reiatsu. He set up the lamp, got ready for bed, burrowed under the cold covers, and slowly warmed up. With quiet determination, he went to sleep.

* * *

**

* * *

References**

Samurai Knitting, it really happened, but Edo Period. Google it and get more than ten pages of bemusing links.


	12. The Mountain Part 1

Shunsui did think of Jyuushiro, when he was two days and fifty miles away from him. The snow blew horizontally in front of him. The wind whipped the breath out of his lungs. His back, butt, and thighs ached from the unaccustomed spread of his legs that using snowshoes required. His feet hurt, his throat felt like it had been sandpapered, and he was standing in front of a cliff while swearing, helplessly, at Shiba Kenshin who looked like he was about to faint.

Shunsui thought mostly about crying on Jyuushiro's shoulder for not being here to help talk the idiot up the damned cliff.

It was late in the day. They had to get up this stupid rock face to the camp site Daisuke-san had made their second day's destination. They'd just found that Kenshin was afraid of heights. Not just drop of the stomach at looking down from a high place afraid of heights, or, gosh, that's a long way to fall afraid of heights, but a full-blown paralyzing terror of even stepping up to a rope that led not that much higher than their heads. No one had noticed until Kenshin had given a tearful confession that he had ducked the practice rounds of jumping onto a platform using shunpo.

Hawk-faced Ryuu Hayato bit his lip. "I'll set the equipment into the cliff face and scout the path. Ito and Kuchiki are both strong enough and agile enough to be my anchors. Any of us can shunpo to good holds if necessary. You and Daisuke-san are the only ones strong enough to be Shiba's anchor. Please put Shiba in the center and then you'll just have to follow as best you're able."

Daisuke-san gave Hayato an acknowledging bow. "That sounds like an excellent plan to get up this face. Please put your plan into action."

Shunsui noted that nearly everyone, other than Daisuke-san, had lost their honorifics in the march out to the mountain. Shunsui found that after the last two days, he'd added the honorific to the wiry old man's name as a matter-of-course. That didn't happen often. It now felt comfortable to just call the other students by their family names.

Hayato attached harnesses to his group and then roped himself to Kuchiki Kaoru, and from Kaoru to Ito Kali. He then attached lines from Kenshin to both his anchors. Shunsui couldn't help but notice, though, that Hayato did not just tie a line around his waist. Instead, the young man tied a smaller length of rope around Shunsui's hips and between his legs. With some careful adjusting on Shunsui's part, Hayato pulled it all tight to rest against Shunsui's hip bones, not his waist, and then tied the longer rope to that rope harness.

As Hayato worked at the ropes, everyone took off their snowshoes with sighs of relief. They strapped the snowshoes to their packs. Hayato, Kaoru, and Kali moved over to the rock face and worked their way up the eighteen foot cliff. It didn't seem that far. The rope, between the three, spanned two-thirds of the climb. A flash step could even have taken any single one of them most of the way up, but the trick would have been finding a foothold on that sheer face in the instant that step gave to get the next foothold. Neither Kenshin nor Shunsui himself were that good at shunpo to begin with.

So it meant that they had to get up that cliff the old-fashioned way, by climbing it. Shunsui was grateful that Hayato and the other good shunpo students went the slow way in order to make it possible for Kenshin and himself to get up to the target area. But now they had the additional problem of Kenshin's fear.

When Shunsui saw that the first three had made it and left behind the anchor rope for them, he turned to Kenshin. "Shiba, come on," Shunsui began, using his most soothing tones. "It's not that far..."

"You... you don't get it. I... I just can't!" Kenshin was white-knuckled and shaking. Each word sounded shakier.

Shunsui switched tactics. "You have to, Shiba. We have to get out of this wind or else we're going to die." When that didn't get a response, Shunsui added, "If you stay here you're going to kill all three of us."

"But I caaaan't," Kenshin wailed.

"I guess we could just knock him out and carry him to the top, sir," Shunsui said wearily to Daisuke-san.

"No." Daisuke-san eyed the big young man. "He's too heavy for us to do that without endangering ourselves. Can you think of another approach, one that brings out his courage, his fighting spirit? Something that will make him want to go up that cliff?"

Shunsui eyed Daisuke-san. The older man returned the look, giving nothing back.

Shunsui sighed, and took off his pack to put his heavy, fur mitts in the top of his pack. He had knitted half-gloves underneath. He wanted a better grip for the rope. He put his pack back on. Then he said to Daisuke-san, "You ready to follow quickly, sir?"

"Yes, Kyouraku-kun, I can follow quickly."

Shunsui walked up to Kenshin. He placed himself carefully between Kenshin and the rope at the bottom of the cliff. Then he yelled, "Kenshin! You're a stupid, fucking coward and your mother's a whore in the 69th District!" He backhanded Kenshin's cheek hard enough to rock Kenshin's head to the side.

Kenshin's head snapped back around. His eyes lit on fire, his reiatsu flared, and Shunsui ran for the cliff. He heard Kenshin's pounding footsteps behind him.

Shunsui grabbed the rope and started up the climb. Every time he felt Kenshin flag, he'd scream another insult he'd learned from the bars of Rukongai about the Shiba family or Kenshin himself. When he felt that blast of rage, he'd frantically look for another foothold. About a third of the way up, Shunsui's reiatsu flared as well.

_ How about "Ape-faced, shit throwing screamer?" "Bakugami mothered you and you roll in mud and eat your own kind!" His zanpakutou sounded amused in the back of his brain._

_You're laughing at me. _

_Well, it is funny, so long as he doesn't draw on you at the top of the cliff._

_It's all funny until someone gets skewered?_

_No. Until you get threatened for real. Then I stop laughing. Oh! Try "You're no better than a desperate ugly pus hole who clobbers the diseased." or "Eat snot you wastrel brute!" or "You molest your sister and lift your leg at trees!"_

_You're having way too much fun. Why in seven hells can't you talk to me when I'm on the ground meditating, rather than when I'm climbing a frozen cliff in a snow storm being chased by someone trying to kill me? _

A rasping chuckle at the back of his mind was his only answer to that.

With Kenshin's murderous rage coming after him, even when Shunsui missed a foothold, he found it remarkably easy to just scrabble with his feet on sheer rock while his burning arms pulled him further up the cliff.

Finally, when he got to the top of the cliff, eager hands helped him come up over the lip. He was still tied to Kenshin. He couldn't run very far away, but Shunsui nearly hauled Kenshin up the last few feet as he took as much advantage as he could of the rope's length. Kenshin, growling and spitting, managed to get up onto the cliff far enough to free his hands. There was a click and a hiss of steel, and the whole cliff top was flooded with the heavy earthquake rumble of Kenshin's reiatsu.

The other three stepped back. Shunsui, tired and aching beyond belief heard his zanpakutou howl, _Draw me NOW, you fool._ He didn't. He just stood there, and looked at Kenshin. Shunsui bet his life that Kenshin would not attack an unarmed man.

Then a voice that could not be ignored snapped, "Shiba-kun, at attention. Now!"

Kenshin snapped to attention automatically, sword automatically sheathed with a motion as reflexive as breathing.

"Look at where you are, Shiba-kun." That voice was coming from Daisuke-san, and everyone stared. It hadn't seemed possible, but the clarity and volume of Daisuke-san's voice cut through Kenshin's rage.

Kenshin faltered. His eyes cleared and he looked around himself.

Kenshin then fell to his knees.

Shunsui did the same, feeling like a puppet with his strings cut. He felt hands against his body, untying the rope binding him to Kenshin, and then working away at his harness. Then he heard a quiet chuckle near his ear.

It was Kaoru, face framed by black fur. "That is quite a vocabulary you have there, Kyouraku."

"Picked it up in the finest of establishments," Shunsui said weakly.

"I am sure." The smooth voice was totally uninflected. "You did quite well with the fool. But you might wish to remove a few layers of clothing before you sweat after that exertion. Our stopping point is close and it would be dangerous to have wet clothing."

Shunsui closed his eyes. "I... I think... I'm going to need help with that." His body and voice shook with reaction. Reaction to the climb, reaction to the rage, reaction to the gutter of words that had spilled from his own mouth, and, perhaps most of all, reaction to getting drawn on by the man he'd been so desperate to help. "Please, Kuchiki, I don't think I can fasten or unfasten anything right now."

"Hai, Kyouraku. Certainly." Kaoru pulled his slender hands out of his fur mitts. He wore white hand guards instead of gloves underneath. He quickly and efficiently stripped off Shunsui's pack and obi. Shunsui felt silk-covered palms gently close on the sheath of his zanpakutou, and lay it lightly on top of the pack, loosely wrapped by the obi. Kaoru quickly stripped off the fur coat and then peeled away and up, out of his hakama, two layers of quilted kimono. The winter wind whipped at the damp under layers and Shunsui shivered even more.

"We might be a bit too late," Kaoru said softly. "But this should help slow the accumulation, and you will have a chance to dry out while we are making camp." Kaoru deftly slipped the fur coat back over Shunsui's shoulders, put the hood back on his head, redid the sparse obi, and put the zanpakutou back into Shunsui's belt. "Where are your mitts?"

"A-at the t-top of m-my p-pack."

Kaoru hefted Shunsui's pack back onto his back, and slid the mittens over Shunsui's hands. They didn't impart much relief, as they were as cold as his hands.

Kaoru frowned. He shed both handguards and put his hands in the right mitt. He rubbed Shunsui's right hand briskly in the insulation of the fur. Shunsui noticed something just a little odd; the hands that rubbed his were as calloused as his, but were those ridges on his palms? Shunsui couldn't tell as his hands were nearly numb. Kaoru did the same with his left hand, and Shunsui felt a hint of that odd texture again.

But Kaoru warmed both of Shunsui's hands until they were no longer aching with cold, so Shunsui kept his questions to himself.

"Th-thank you. I can j-ust about feel my hands n-now." Shunsui's teeth chattered around the words, but the coat blocked the wind and he was already warming back up. He must have really exerted himself on the climb.

Kaoru pushed Shunsui back so that he sat on his butt instead of kneeling. He lifted each of Shunsui's feet and fitted the snowshoes back onto them.

"You will have to stand now. We still have a small distance to go and the motion should get you warmer again. Please give me your arm?" The dark gray eyes looked into Shunsui's. "Your arm."

Shunsui shook himself and lifted his right arm. Kaoru put it over his own shoulder and then, with surprising strength, lifted Shunsui onto his feet. Shunsui stumbled, but Kaoru's slender strength held him without difficulty until he found his feet again.

"Good," Kaoru said. Then they both stopped. Shunsui looked up.

It was Kenshin; a rather rigid and haggard looking Kenshin. Kenshin fell on his knees and bowed all the way to the snowy ground before Kaoru and Shunsui.

Shunsui made a pained noise, which made Kenshin flinch, but he stayed down and said, "I offer my formal apology, Kyouraku-san, for my behavior at the top of the cliff. I am deeply sorry for what I have done."

Shunsui almost snorted, but Kenshin seemed so fervent. "It's okay, Shiba."

Kenshin looked up; there was relief on his face.

Shunsui grinned and said, "I almost would have felt better if you'd just clocked me one at the top. I said a lot of terrible things. I am sorry for that, too."

Kenshin blushed and got up off his knees. Slowly, he said, "I should thank you for that, too."

"What? Why?"

Kenshin chuckled, finally losing the rigid formality on his features. "Because I never could have gotten up that cliff any other way."

Shunsui sighed, a sigh that was a little too tired to be entirely mockery. "I was afraid of that."

"Why?"

"Because we're both going to have to remember that when we try and get you back down that cliff."

* * *

They didn't stop at what Shunsui considered a really prime clearing at the base of another cliff. It was sheltered from the wind by the rock and trees. There was underbrush and trees everywhere to gather branches for ground cover. 

Instead, they kept going up and around and up some more. Finally, they were just in front of the summit of one of the foothills before the mountain really began. There, just below the summit, was a clearing in the trees. The mountain itself provided some shelter from the wind, and when Shunsui turned to look down the slope, he could see all the forest they'd just walked through and the sheer line of the cliff they'd come up. The view was gorgeous.

Hayato stood next to a drift that was resting against one group of trees. He looked wan and a little sick. The drift was nearly as tall as Shunsui, and it had a hole in it. Every once in a while, snow would come flying out along with a few choice curses in Kali's voice.

Shunsui went over and grasped the thin young man's shoulder. "Hey. You doing okay?"

"Not really, but Kali's giving me a break." Hayato shuddered quietly. "It presses on me when it's still that small. Climbs, mountain cliffs, summits, no problem. Caves, tents, tight tunnels... still a big problem."

"Yeah, I'm just glad you told us before we left." Shunsui ducked down to look into the tunnel. "Why don't you go build the windbreak for the night watch station? The rest of us are here, now. We can do the building."

Hayato gave them both a small bow of gratitude and trotted over to Daisuke-san to get help on where to place their watch and the campfire.

Kaoru nodded and bent down to call into the tunnel. "Ito, would you like me to relieve you?"

A shower of snow greeted him, as Kali threw more snow out with her shovel. Shunsui laughed and handed Kaoru one of the group's cooking pots. Kaoru used it to start pulling that flying snow out of the tunnel, and build a wind break in front of the door to the snow cave.

"Let's go start another one." Shunsui nodded to Kenshin, who picked up a shovel. The two of them looked for another drift.

The trees had built another drift only a few feet away. They figured out where the wind was coming from, and Kenshin started digging down into the side of the drift away from the wind. He made the tunnel wide enough for himself or Shunsui. As snow came out of the tunnel, Shunsui used it to build a wind break in front of what would be the door.

Eventually, Kenshin came wiggling out of the tunnel, breathing heavily. "Your turn. I got the tunnel to turn up, but only started on the sleeping platform."

Shunsui wiggled into the tunnel, and had more sympathy for Hayato than he'd had for Kenshin. It was tight in there, dark, close, and the weight of the snow pressed on the mind as much as the flesh. He had to wiggle down the tunnel, and then up towards the main sleeping chamber. Having part of the entrance tunnel lie lower than the platform meant that all the cold air from where they would be staying could move down into the tunnel rather than stay trapped with them. Kenshin had poked an air hole out of the top of the tunnel, so the air in the cave, while still, was fresh and sweet.

In the cramped tunnel, Shunsui knelt on the bottom of the bend and brought the shovel up as far as he could to start carving out the sleeping area. It looked like the air hole was still several feet long, so there was plenty of snow above them to hold the roof.

He started digging sideways. It was hard going at first, trying to turn the tunnel that drastically and not ram the handle of the shovel into one wall of the tunnel while trying to use the blade on the other. He managed to cover his feet with snow from what he'd dug out of the platform. He then tried to move so that he could shovel the snow at his feet back up the tunnel he'd come down. This was the hard part, where he didn't have enough room to turn around to push snow back out of the tunnel and there was still plenty of material to go. He tried to use his feet to push as much of the loose stuff back up the tunnel, and then he suddenly heard and saw Kenshin's hands scooping the snow away from his feet.

"Thanks!" Shunsui called.

Muffled by the snow, Kenshin answered, "No problem."

Shunsui brought out a great deal more snow, and Kenshin kept up with him in the first part of the tunnel. Eventually he cleared enough out that he could get into the sleeping chamber and turn around. His arms were burning by this point, and he carefully pushed as much snow out of the tunnel as he could. When he got back out, the wind lashed at his face.

"Ow," Shunsui said, and put his hood and scarf back up. "You want a turn inside?"

Kenshin nodded and took the shovel from Shunsui. Soon, they were done, and the inside was tall enough for them both to sit upright. It was warm and snug against the wind, and with the extra height it didn't press so badly. There was plenty of room for their blanket rolls and some insulating boughs they cut from evergreens further down the slope they'd come up.

They brought extras for the other shelters, and Kali nodded in approval. She beckoned to Hayato. "Ryuu, I need you to check it out and see if it's deep enough for you to rest," Kali said. "And you might as well take these and your stuff in there, too."

"Aye, Ito-san," Hayato said nervously. He took the branches and his bag and started down their tunnel.

Kali stood with arms akimbo as she waited. Sounds of a low moan and then a soft curse made her smile as the boughs gradually disappeared, along with Hayato's narrow feet, into the dark hole.

"I left a candle lit in there," she said, looking up at Shunsui. "It should help him with the darkness, and will probably drive him crazy a different way as a waste of resources and a potential fire hazard."

"Ito! Are you trying to get me to burn myself to death?" came out of the tunnel.

"See?" she said with a grin. "Told you."

Shunsui laughed and hugged her. She elbowed him, but smiled up at him. "Not quite that close, lover boy."

Shunsui chuckled and raised his hands in the air. "My reputation precedes me."

"Your reputation is all over you," she said, eyeing him.

He shrugged, too tired to think of what to say. He suddenly felt vulnerable without the energy to keep his usual banter and play going. So he pulled his hood down over his eyes, and gave an exaggerated sigh, "Well, can't help that."

"When was the last time you saw Takahashi-chan, Kyouraku?" Kali's tone was very neutral.

Shunsui froze.

"She's been crying all over the girls' dorms for the last couple of weeks. Everyone's been telling her she shouldn't have expected any more than that," Kali said dryly.

Shunsui felt his head bow a little under the weight of that knowledge. "She probably shouldn't have expected any more than that."

Kali hmphed softly. "Men. The interesting thing is that none of the other girls seem to notice that you haven't actually picked up a heart's desire for the month, unlike last year, where you had a new squeeze pretty much every other week."

Shunsui peeked out from under his hood. Kali's was watching him as closely as a hawk watching a mouse.

Finally she said, "You seem different, Kyouraku. I'm still not sure how different, but you should go at least talk with Takahashi-chan when you get back. Give her a reason, or at least a decent ending, rather than just disappearing like you did."

Shunsui sighed and nodded. "All right. I'll do that. She does deserve that." He hesitated. "Thank you, very much, Ito-san."

She laughed. "So formal! What happened to the Kyouraku I know?" She punched him in the shoulder. "Don't look so down. She's doing okay, everyone knows what they're getting into when they get involved with you, and we all catch them when they fall."

Shunsui chuckled and shook his head. "I had no idea."

"Well, now you know," Kali said. Then she went and poked her head into the tunnel, "Hey, Ryuu, you dead, yet?"

A growl came out of the shelter. She laughed and straightened. "I wonder how Daisuke-san is doing with dinner."

"Dinner?" Shunsui's stomach growled, long and low. They both laughed, this time.

"I guess when Ryuu gets out we'll go check, won't we?" Kali rubbed her own stomach. "I'm starving."

"Me, too." Hayato said as he crawled out of the tunnel, with a quenched candle in one hand. "Thank you, Ito, it is big enough for me to actually rest, especially if I put my head right next to the exit."

Kali nodded. "Good. Let's get to dinner." And the three of them crunched over the snow in their snow shoes toward the glow of the fire, brightening in the gathering dark.


	13. The Mountain Part 2

All the shelters were built. The fire was roaring in a fire pit that Daisuke-san and Kaoru had dug. They'd filled two cookpots with snow and put them by the fire. Hot tea was a blessing against Shunsui's throat. Daisuke-san had made sure everyone started out with two bamboo bottles of water and replenished them at the lunch stop, but everyone was still deeply thirsty. The fire melted out an area all the students could crouch in, out of the wind. The deep snow created a natural wind break and natural cover so that the fire's light wouldn't go out into the woods.

One of the pots was filled with water, rice, dried seaweed, bonito shavings, and the ripped leaves of a green vegetable. It was giving off excellent scents, and everyone gathered together and drooled.

Daisuke-san stirred the pot carefully. He picked out a piece and blew on it, then tasted it and shook his head. "Not quite done. We probably have time for one small lesson before it's done." Everyone groaned, and he smiled at the groans. "I'm glad you feel you can express your real feelings around me." Shunsui laughed at that.

"Okay. The lesson. I want each of you to name a strength that has nothing to do with the grades and class work you do at the Academy for each of the others in your group. Then I want you to name one, just one, of your weaknesses. No one else is to help anyone with their weakness." Daisuke looked around the circle. "Are the instructions understood?"

"Aye, sir," they all said, but Shunsui could see drawn brows all around the fire.

"So, who wants to go first?" Daisuke-san looked around the group. Everyone looked away from him. "Well, then, I shall lead by example."

He pointed at each of the students in turn. "Ryuu-kun sees more than nearly anyone. Ito-kun is flexible of body and mind and fast when under pressure. Shiba-kun is strong and stubborn. Kuchiki-kun does things exactly as they should be done. Kyouraku-kun doesn't let others' opinion of him stop him from doing what needs to be done."

"Stubborn is a strength?" Kenshin asked as he laughed.

"Indeed. It can be a very useful trait in a large number of circumstances," Daisuke said, smiling.

"And your weakness?" Kali asked with a tilt of her head.

"I cannot be left alone," Daisuke said quietly. His tone grew remote and his words slowed. "When I died out of the living world it was while leading a rear guard action, for a withdrawal by Yamamoto-sama's forces. I can't remember why that war was even being fought now. But I and my men held the road long enough for the other forces to escape.

"We counted as we fought and died. We killed everyone that tried to come through us. We kept them long enough. But they resorted to archery, and shot my men around me. Then they buried me, alive, amidst the bodies of my own men, the ones I had trained and fought with and would have been proud to die with. They made me die alone."

The entire circle was quiet but for the flickering lick of flames and the pop and hiss of burning pitch from the wood. Shunsui found that his hands were clenched tight inside his mittens. The noble houses were formed of people who could give birth to new souls. Anyone in Soul Society that gave birth was automatically included in the lower nobility: those with a record of being able to conceive new souls, powerful souls, were what made the Noble Houses. A few of the members of the noble houses were the dead that were powerful enough to be adopted, so he wasn't sure if anyone in their group could comprehend the story they'd just been given. He certainly couldn't.

"Since then, I have been terrified of being left alone. It is one of the reasons why I wish to teach you all I know about how to survive, and how to allow you to help each other to survive. But you will notice that I am always within sight or sound of one of you. That is my weakness." Daisuke-san bowed his head over the fire for a moment and then looked up at all of them. "Which of you is next?"

There was a slow sigh around the circle. Shunsui used the moment's silence to collect himself.

Then Kali narrowed her eyes. "Can we use the same strengths that other people do, if we agree with them?"

"Of course," Daisuke said pleasantly.

"Should we include you?" Kaoru asked as he leaned back into the snow bank behind him.

"If you like, I would be honored," Daisuke answered. "But I'm more concerned about how you deal with your teammates here, than with me. I will be with you for a few years, but eventually this group will have to function on its own."

"What about Ukitake?" Kenshin asked as he watched the fire. "Should we include him, too?"

"I'd like to," Shunsui said quietly. And everyone around the fire nodded but for Hayato.

Hayato pursed his lips. "Does Ukitake really belong with us? He's... so... weakened by that illness of his. How can he function with us if just a cold can take him out? Kyouraku, I already know your opinion, so you don't have to answer."

Shunsui deflated. He heard Kali giggle. Kenshin was frowning at the fire.

It was Kaoru that leaned forward, "I believe that Ukitake does belong with us. Although his weakness is obvious, his strengths are equally obvious. And he can already do several things that the rest of us cannot."

Kenshin's head came up at that. "Like what?"

"He has an understanding and empathy with the lower class. When he strikes with all his conviction and will, he strikes deeper and faster than any of us. His intuitive understanding of people makes them flock to him for advice. No one would say that last about any of the rest of us." Kaoru delivered the statement in an even tone, almost flat.

"Well, I'd go to Kyouraku for the last, not Ukitake," Kenshin said with a frown. "Ukitake seems too... well... good, if you know what I mean, to really get it when, well, I'm stupid."

"I think we are getting into the exercise, now," Daisuke-san said with a laugh. "Maybe we should all list Ukitake's strengths and maybe your answer will fall out of that, Ryuu."

Hayato nodded. "I think I've heard enough to be persuaded to try."

"Very well, then, go ahead." Daisuke-san took a long sip from his tea.

Hayato focused on Shunsui first. "Kyouraku is willing to help anyone, even if he really should hate them." He turned. "Kuchiki will serve the higher purpose however he understands it. Shiba..." He paused and tilted his head, looking more like a hawk then ever. "Shiba, for all his bluster and bravado, sticks with what he does through to the end of it. Ito is as curious as a cat and will stick her nose into anything, for which I am grateful. Daisuke-san..." Again, Hayato paused, thinking, "... you feel like an endless well of experience. Someone who could give us anything we needed if we could just figure out how to ask."

Shunsui felt his jaw drop.

Kali laughed, "I think that was as damning as it was enlightening."

Hayato gave her a small bow. "And all of you already know about my problem with enclosed spaces. My other one is... nearly the opposite of Daisuke-san's. I would much, much prefer to do all of this on my own. I hate being near people, in general. I usually can't stand them and can't stand being in constant close proximity with others. I'm starting to realize how this limits me, though. So I am willing to learn."

"What about Ukitake?" Daisuke-san asked. "What do you see as one of his strengths?"

Hayato thought for a moment. "I see that he is decisive. His will is strong where his body is weak, perhaps because his body is weak."

"Again with the good with the bad," Kenshin said. "Can't you make up your mind?"

Hayato shrugged. "Do I need to?"

Kenshin growled, "It would be easier to understand. Oh, seven hells, I'll go next." He stood up and started ticking off his fingers. "Ukitake can kick my ass. Kyouraku can drink me under the table. Ito's cute." Shunsui heard Kali snort at that. "Ryuu can go higher than I thought any human being could go and survive. Kuchiki..." Kenshin slowed brow furrowed. "I can't read Kuchiki to save my life. Daisuke-san could probably take us all out in a heartbeat, but he's teaching us instead. You all know now that I hate heights. I'm not as smart as all of you. I fuck up at stuff, but when I fuck up, I usually get up and try again."

"Swinging..." Shunsui added under his breath. Everyone looked at him. He shrugged. "I said, Shiba, that you actually get up swinging when you go down. It's a gift. Ito's curiosity allows her to look for more than any of us might even think might be there. Ryuu has a fierce courage that burns hottest under pressure and danger."

Shunsui saw Hayato blink at that. He smiled and continued. "Kuchiki is as polished and refined as a mirror, shielding all with his brightness. Ukitake..." Shunsui paused and thought on how to condense his feelings into one phrase. "Ukitake sacrifices himself and just himself to make things right, he never counts the cost. Daisuke-san is proof, for me, that the warrior's way may be my salvation. I hadn't realized there were so many ways to save people's lives in the act of trying to destroy others."

Shunsui took a breath. "My failings and weaknesses are many. Women, wine, a... distractible temper, a wayward heart, no sense of time, few motivations, and an often wavering sense of honor or will."

Kali laughed, "Well, I won't argue with that."

"I either." Kaoru said softly. "But, as I said earlier, that might be your greatest strength as well, Kyouraku."

"What, my countless failings?" Shunsui asked in surprise.

"Exactly. You, of all of us, have the most sympathy for those who fail, somehow, be it Kenshin and his cliff, or Jyuushiro and his lungs," Kaoru said, quietly. "I have already spoken of the strengths Ukitake possesses. Ito has grace, beauty, and a fine eye for social situations and how they might be resolved. Ryuu is the eagle hovering over all, able to see alone what might not be seen by those involved. Shiba cannot be deterred. Daisuke-san shows us that while one may seem unassuming, one may still be powerful in all the necessary ways."

Kaoru stopped, and everyone else leaned in, waiting.

Finally, Kenshin said, "Well.. what do you see as your weakness?"

A slow sigh came from the heavy-lidded noble. "I cannot tolerate failure."

"That's a weakness?" Kenshin cried, "That's stupid."

Kaoru gave a small sniff.

Shunsui thought about it for a while, but he decided not to say anything.

It was Kali who turned towards her long-time friend, "Kuchiki, is your statement the opposite of what you complimented Shunsui for?"

Kaoru smiled at her, in a most gentle curl of those chiseled lips. "Precisely, Ito. I will not fail at what I do. I, therefore, have little to no sympathy for those who fail at anything. It makes me hard to approach, hard to deal with, and very hard for me to associate with anyone. I do not lay blame on anyone for having little sympathy for me when I have so little for them. But the actions and attitudes Kyouraku has displayed have shown me that there are easier ways to accomplish things that require greater effort on my part."

Shunsui felt his eyes glazing a little at the long-winded explanation. His stomach growled again.

Kali laughed. "My turn!" She got up and patted each of the young men on the head as she walked by them. At Hayato she said, "Survives anywhere." On Shunsui's head she said, "Tolerant." On Kaoru's head she said, "Perfect." On Kenshin's head she said, "Bull." She stopped in front of Daisuke-san and bowed gently. "A warrior's way with a warrior's heart.

"I love to know what goes on everywhere. I have a tendency to trust myself too far, and go where I shouldn't go. I do what I shouldn't do simply to see what happens when I push that one block just that much too far. My brothers hate me for toppling more of their games than anyone else. I usually can wiggle out of it. Some day I won't. Can we eat now? I'm starving!!"

Everyone laughed, including Daisuke-san. He dipped his spoon back into the pot, blew, grinned at all the eyes watching him, and then tasted. "Soup's on, trainees. Let's eat."

* * *

Shunsui was woken for his night watch by Daisuke-san. Shunsui had been sleeping peacefully with his toes dry, warm, and snug in the tabi Jyuurshiro had made him. He had no idea how the old man figured out which form he needed to shake in the pitch darkness of the inside of the snow shelter at night. He thought it would have to be some kind of kido or something. The wind slapped him in the face, and he resented not feeling any more awake after being hit by the cold than before. Daisuke went with him to the watch shelter where Kaoru sat, awake and far more alert than Shunsui felt. 

"You have twenty minutes to wake up, Kyouraku. Kuchiki is still on watch until the end of his shift, but you'll need to wake up and get yourself together for your two hour watch. I'll bring Ito twenty minutes before her watch as well. You should go take a piss before your watch commences, Kyouraku." Daisuke-san's tone was matter-of-fact and his voice quiet. In the dark it was hard to see any expressions.

Shunsui stumbled out into the trees, remembering the guard he'd taken out by the hideout and suspected that that man hadn't had a Daisuke-san to organize his watch. It was good to know what it was supposed to be like. Then, remembering his other assumption, he stumbled back to the watch shelter.

"Daisuke-san," Shunsui whispered.

"No whispering," Daisuke-san said in a quiet voice. "Believe it or not a whisper will carry, on a quiet night, much further than just a quiet tone of voice. Not that we have exactly that problem tonight with the wind. But it's a good habit."

Shunsui changed to a low murmur. "Ah. Okay. Why do we only have one person on watch? Wouldn't two be better if there was an attack by... say... a single Hollow?"

"Well, if the one just high-tailed it and ran screaming back to the shelters, they wouldn't have to deal with any Hollows on their own, now would they?" Daisuke-san asked, sounding a little amused.

"Well... yeah... we're close enough to do that." Shunsui frowned and thought more.

"Are you wondering if the guard positions around that gangster's hideout were useful ones?" Daisuke-san asked.

"Yes. I assumed they'd have positions along the most likely avenues of approach, just off the road from the city and along a deer track through the forest. And they did, but none of them were close enough to just run and yell to alert the inner guards."

"Did they have any other means of communication?"

"Not that I could see." Shunsui said.

"Then they positioned them wrongly. The primary purpose of outposts and pickets is to communicate the approach of enemies. Outputs can fall back on pickets, and pickets can then fall back on the main group. This is most useful in open, straight terrain, with lots of avenues of approach. As you can see here, there is only one approach to the site we chose, and a very large open space in front of it that can be clearly seen and heard for miles." Daisuke-san's voice was quiet as if he were discussing the weather or something obvious like a cloud or the shape of a river. "Our group is small. To balance the amount of energy spent on a posting against the energy we'll need tomorrow to make our planned campsite, I decided to only use one person every two hours in five shifts to cover all the night when we were asleep. Sleep is very important to any force."

"When do you get to sleep?" Shunsui asked quietly.

"I sleep exactly an hour and a half at a time: it's what my body likes and needs and allows me to make sure each watch is settled properly before I go back to sleep again. With five of those I get seven and a half hours of sleep, which is quite enough for me to function well for another day. But I don't object to getting more when I can." Daisuke-san chuckled. "Speaking of which, it sounds as if you're awake enough to take your watch. I think I'd like to get back to sleep. Kuchiki-kun?"

Kaoru turned and nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Shall we go back to our shelter?"

"Certainly, sir." Kaoru turned to Shunsui. "The watch is yours, Kyouraku. Have a peaceful one."

Shunsui spent most of his peaceful two hours thinking that he still had a lot to learn.

Shunsui spent most of the next four days absorbing a great deal of practical information on how to survive out in the cold and wilderness without killing his teammates or making them want to kill him. Terrain analysis intrigued him and using the painting skills his family had never valued, because drawing exactly what you see -- as he had always done -- wasn't a trait that made great art. He started experimenting with how to make sketch maps of terrain and how to represent cover and concealment, fields of observation and fire for kido, and avenues of approach.

Daisuke-san took interest in the maps, and asked for copies. Shunsui, for the first time in a long time, took pride in what he could do, rather than a bitter satisfaction in all the things he couldn't.

Then, of course, on the last morning, Ito Kali had the last watch of the night. When she didn't show up back at the camp at the end of her watch, Daisuke-san took Hayato with him to look for her. They came back to camp at a run.

"Everyone pack up fast." Daisuke-san commanded, calm as ever. "She's gone, we're going to have to track her."

* * *

**

* * *

**

Many thanks to incandescens for betaing this!!**  
**

**References**

Gerke, Randy, _When Storms Rage: Or How To Build A Snow Cave_ on etisurvival's web site.

Timothy R., _The Recon Field Manual_, published by the 28th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a Civil War reenactment group.

Yates, Lieut. W. T. 71st Infantry "Mountain Warfare" _Australian Military Journal_, Jan. 1915.

Mountain Survival's "How To Time a Tough Hike"


	14. The Mountain Part 3

In the last four days, they'd changed campsites three times and gotten within a day's travel of Seireitei. They'd managed getting Kenshin down the cliff by letting him down on a rope held by three of them at the bottom. Their weights counterbalanced his easily, so they could control his decent safely when he panicked. And he did panic, but he just bumped gently against a few rocks before he got low enough down for him to start thinking again. That helped a great deal in getting him the rest of the way down.

They were in the forests surrounding Seireitei when Kali disappeared that morning. The open nature of the campsite had prompted a discussion and rearrangement of the night watch. There were two watch stations, each alongside the trail they were traveling, and each pair in each shelter took their turns during the night. Since the visibility wasn't nearly as good as it had been on the mountain, each watch also had trip lines placed along three or four paths of access a good 50 yards away. The trip lines were then laid to the watch shelter, so if anyone or anything tripped over the line, the person in the watch shelter would be alerted.

Kali's trip lines were all exactly where they'd been earlier that morning when she'd taken over her watch from Kaoru. But Hayato had seen the trail where she'd walked out along one of the trip lines in her snowshoes that morning. Daisuke and Hayato carefully wound up the trip lines for later use.

Everyone packed, buried the fire, and ran. Kenshin took Kali's pack as well as his own. Daisuke handed out bonito shavings and the gelled remains of the rice pot from the previous night rolled in dried seaweed, and they ate while they hurried.

Hayato took point. He'd tracked deer, elk, and other game in the mountains before, and he could read the signs in the snow, even hours after Kali had left. Shunsui took flank. During hide and seek exercises, everyone had been surprised to find that Shunsui had the best range on reiatsu sensing. He privately thought that it was because of the play times Jyuushiro had organized with Yoruichi and Kisuke. Kisuke picked the damnedest places to hide. Shunsui also had the best endurance of them all, and could do distance running necessary for a flank guard.

He felt alone back there, not quite sure what was happening with everyone else. But he kept them within sight and within the range of his reiatsu senses.

They went at a good pace. The snowshoes didn't hurt anymore, and he'd become fairly adept with them. Now he'd realized that he didn't have to lift his feet the whole way up, didn't have to exaggerate his stance too much, and had mastered how to just glide over the yard-thick snow with them when his weight would otherwise have pushed him knee-deep or even hip-deep into it.

An hour later, Shunsui felt everyone but Daisuke-san flare their reiatsu. He stopped, turned around, and sent his senses as far out as he could. His job wasn't to run to their rescue. His job was to make absolutely sure they weren't going to be surprised from behind.

A hungry, sick reiatsu tasting of old iron or dead blood lay waiting in front of the main group. Shunsui shuddered. It was easier to cleanse Hollows than to kill people. He shouldn't stay too far from the group. He could feel them sprinting away from him. He started moving faster to close the distance, but he kept his attention behind him.

The snow made everything even, made the footing all the same, and that was a blessing. There was the sudden flash of reiatsu that was a shunpo step being taken, coming from where the others were; then more bursts in quick succession. Then that unmistakable reek, in force, mixed amid the clean reiatsu. Shunsui swore softly. He flash-stepped as well, just to keep up with the group, knowing that if he needed backup or needed to back them up he would do well to close the gap now.

That was when he felt the onrush of Hollow reiatsu coming from behind him. Shunsui whirled, wondering if he'd looked like running prey. It was a normal sized Hollow, bone-masked head lowered, claws swinging. He remembered the high jump that Ryuu-sama had everyone practicing after that first tactics class, and he threw himself into it as he drew and flared his reiatsu.

It bellowed, swinging at him while he was in the air. He blocked the blow with his zanpakutou, but then it came at him with its teeth and other claws. He brought his feet up, spanning the gap of its maw with the wide webs of the snowshoes, trampling it down. He had to whip the sword all the way around his body to block the other set of claws, and he wished he had a blade in each hand. Neither block had needed his full strength. He used the impromptu support of his webs on its teeth to flip back out of the way.

He used shunpo to get a little more distance. It tried rushing him, but the extra distance gave him the time to pick his angle and gather his focus to himself.

___Cut it, cut it, we will destroy it. Splinters of bone, ashes of regret, flowers of blood, reaped rewards, rending flesh._

His zanpakutou wailed and sang as Shunsui kiai'ed and swung at the mask. Seven hells, he'd misjudged the distance. He sliced just the edge of the mask off, and saw the woman beneath. When she snarled at him, his trained reflexes took the opportunity to turn his zanpakutou and, on the backswing, put the edge right through her mask.

His edge cut through the rest of the bone mask as if it were a china plate, shattering it and driving deep into the ghost beneath. Shunsui saw the woman behind the mask sigh in relief. She gave him a momentary smile, and then she scattered into ash.

___She gave us her blessing._ His zanpakutou sounded as awed as Shunsui felt.

Shunsui suddenly realized he had tears in his eyes. He wiped them away, and then ran toward the group again.

___There might be more behind us._

Shunsui knew the sword was right, so he paused again, even as his heart wanted him to go as quickly as possible. He spread his reiatsu out again, and felt nothing. Responsibility satisfied, he ran as fast as he could towards the sounds of the fight.

* * *

When Shunsui got there, there were eight Hollows, and two of them were far larger than any he'd seen before. One of the big ones was holding something slender and slight in one clawed fist. The Hollows were on a low hill, not enough of a slope to slow the attack of the students by much.

He tasted the hash of reiatsu in the air. Hayato's mountain-cold reiatsu flared high and Kenshin's earthquake depths rumbled low, and two figures charged the big Hollow. Hayato took a leap at the arm holding what must have been Kali. Kenshin struck at the creature's knees, going for the right leg.

Daisuke's grass-green reiatsu didn't just flare, it suddenly exploded, five times larger than before. All the other Hollows jumped back, giving the high ground. The one being attacked flinched at the flare. The two students hit it again while it was distracted. Kaoru caught what must have been Kali, as she fell limply from the creature's nearly dismembered hand. Daisuke-san swung something that looked more like a naginata than a sword, and what looked like a thousand bamboo leaf-shaped blades leapt towards the Hollows. They screamed and bled and fell. The big one that had gone down burst into dust along with three of the smaller ones.

Shunsui caught up. He struck one of the smaller ones nearest him, took it from behind and just swung straight down through the head and mask. It burst into dust. Daisuke-san and Hayato took the other two smaller Hollows, and they fell as quickly. The last, larger Hollow looked at them, and turned to run.

Daisuke-san raised his naginata. Green ribbons fluttered in the air. He cried, "Wind Strike!" and brought it down; a brilliant green streak of power followed the blow, splitting the Hollow and the earth beneath it. It left a crack through the earth all the way through the Hollow and ten yards beyond. The Hollow fell to dust.

"What... what was that?" asked Kenshin in an awed voice. "What did you do, Daisuke-san?"

"I released Takekaze." Daisuke-san said shortly. "Kyouraku, are there any others coming?"

"No, sir. There was one along my path, but I didn't sense any others. Should I take up the flank again?"

"No reason to go back, right now. We need to see the extent of Ito-kun's injuries. Then you can stay back as flank when we do move out again." Daisuke-san went over to Kaoru. "How is she?"

"I... I cannot tell, sir. I..." Kaoru's voice shook. "There's so much blood."

"Lay her out on the snow, we have to see." Daisuke-san looked at his naginata and it shrunk back into katana form. He sheathed it. He went around Kaoru, and helped him put Kali down on the snow. Daisuke-san bent over Kali, and started pulling apart her coat and her hakama.

"Won't the cold kill her if she's already injured?" Asked Kenshin.

"It'll slow her bleeding, but might put her into shock," Daisuke-san said shortly. "We have to know whether or not we can move her fast and hard or if we have to go slow." He yanked Kali's clothing opening, disregarding all proprieties. Shunsui had to look away and found Kenshin with him.

"Good. Thank the Emperor, it's all just flesh wounds, no deep punctures." Daisuke sat back, "Trainees, I need bandages, pads for stemming the bleeding. Does anyone know field dressing kido, yet?"

Hayato raised his hand. "Hunting," he said. "Accidents happen."

Daisuke nodded. "Then please make an attempt, I want the bleeding stopped before we drag her through the brush."

Hayato knelt in the snow. Everyone else stood around him and, as a tribute to Daisuke-san's training of the last week, they all turned to look at surrounding landscape. The low hill allowed them good sight lines in all directions. Shunsui sent his reiatsu questing out in all directions and felt the others doing the same.

There.

"Daisuke-san, another group of Hollows is coming down along our path," Shunsui said.

"How many?"

"Uhm..." Shunsui squinted, trying to feel them out.

They all tasted the same. "Half a dozen? Nearly as big a group as you met up with to start."

"What the fuck are they all doing out here?" Kenshin asked in frustration.

"Tracking our powerful souls," Kaoru said, looking at the blood that stained his arms, his coat, and his white-gloved hands. "Now that one of us is wounded, we attract them like blood attracts wolves."

"Especially now that we're out on the trail rather than holed up in a defensible position, but it is unusual for them to be traveling in such large groups. We need to report this back to Yamamoto-sama," Daisuke-san said. "All right. Shunsui, you, and I will cover our threatened flank as the rest of you get Ito-kun back to the academy as quickly as you can. Take turns carrying her and defending the carrier. We'll try and catch up after we've finished here."

Everyone nodded. Hayato finished what he could, and Kali's bandages didn't grow much redder. They wrapped her back up, and added another layer of quilted kimono.

Shunsui waited with Daisuke-san. He could feel the Hollows hesitating.

"We haven't run, yet: is that why they're not attacking?" Shunsui asked.

"Perhaps. I don't know, but that's as good a guess as any," Daisuke-san said quietly.

Once Kali was wrapped up, Kaoru, Kenshin, and Hayato started off towards the Academy, using the navigation skills that Daisuke-san had taught them to find their way through the snowy woods.

That, of course, was when the Hollows rushed Shunsui and Daisuke-san.

"Takekaze, grow!"

Daisuke-san's zanpakutou grew into the naginata with green ribbons that Shunsui had seen earlier. It fit Daisuke-san's wiry build, extending his reach, and the old man swung it with practiced grace.

Shunsui went back to back with Daisuke-san. He gave the old man the room to maneuver that wicked pole arm, but watched his flank. He heard the old man go to work. The howls and cracks and snaps of reiatsu were easy enough to follow even without eyes in the back of his head. One of the Hollows did swing around them, coming at Shunsui, and his zanpakutou just howled wordless regret as it split the mask and head beneath.

___Rest, rest, rest..._ his zanpakutou whispered, and the Hollow blew away into dust.

Then there were no more. They stood there for a moment, and then Daisuke-san swayed. "Is there food in your pack, Kyouraku-kun?"

"Aye. Just a minute," Shunsui said. He dropped his pack and rummaged through it for the packs of dried fruit or fish. They'd used a number of them for meals, and he'd almost left the remaining two at their campsite when he'd grabbed his pack. "Here."

Daisuke-san nearly grabbed the food from Shunsui's hands, and then wolfed it down. A mouthful or two of water followed, and then Daisuke-san nodded, looking more solid. "Let us follow them."

And they did.

Knowing Daisuke-san's weakness, Shunsui stayed close to the man. They weren't going quite as quickly as Shunsui would have on his own, but the company was comforting after that other stretch alone. They followed the tracks of the other three, and Shunsui kept his senses as far-flung as possible.

They started catching up to the carriers, when Shunsui felt the bloody reiatsu of more Hollows. "Oh, gods, no."

"What, Kyouraku-kun?"

"They're coming from the right _side_, sir," Shunsui said, feeling a lump in his throat.

"You run, I'll shunpo alongside," Daisuke-san said, matter-of-fact.

"Aye," Shunsui said and took off.

Daisuke-san appeared by Shunsui's side, time and time again, as Shunsui ran to try and outflank the attacking Hollows. They caught up just as two Hollows burst out from a thick stand of trees and ran, howling, at the four students.

Just two. Hayato was running alongside Kenshin, who was carrying Kali. Kaoru was on the far side. Hayato turned to meet the Hollow that reached him first. Shunsui took one solid shunpo step and went above the second Hollow. It was looking at Hayato when Shunsui hit it from behind. He couldn't see who it was when the mask cracked, and he was nearly as grateful as he was regretful.

Both Hollows went to dust, and they continued.

Daisuke-san joined the main group again. Shunsui took up the flank position, and waited as the others ran past him before following them.

There was a good, long stretch where they met nothing, saw no one. Shunsui wondered if the dust of Hollows left any trace, any warning to others, or, perhaps, the reiatsu of the students had somehow hardened, warning them off?

It was less likely they would be attacked from behind now that they were moving at a good clip, but Shunsui stayed back in his position. Gradually he began to believe that they would make it. Soon they were within sight of the city, of the walls, of the ramshackle Rukongai sheds. And then they were in among the staring poor, the mud and ruin and filth.

"Halt," Daisuke-san called. "Take off your snow shoes. It'll be easier going from here."

He waved Shunsui back into the group. Shunsui joined the others immediately, this was District 72; it would be foolish to be the loner here. They all stripped off the snowshoes and tied them onto each others' backs.

"Kyouraku-kun, you're the freshest of us all, please carry Ito-kun." Daisuke-san requested.

Shunsui went to Kaoru who looked up at him. Kaoru was cradling Kali close to his heart, but with the look Kaoru gently let Kali's legs down. He helped Shunsui turn her, and Shunsui took her upper body up with his right arm and then reached down to pick up her knees with his left. Shunsui shifted her up and Kaoru tucked Kali's head so that she rested against Shunsui's shoulder and throat, rather than flopping any which way.

"Thank you, Kuchiki."

"You are both welcome," Kaoru said and then joined the others surrounding the burdened Shunsui to watch the alleys, darkened doorways, and people listlessly watching them from their hovels.

When they reached the gate Daisuke-san nodded at the guard, who waved them through without a word, and they headed to the quiet, white infirmary.

It was almost anticlimactic. It would have been if it weren't such a relief.

They delivered Kali to the infirmary, and got her into the emergency ward that burst into activity like a kicked wasp's nest. It was Sasaki Osamu's watch.

"Good work, Ryuu-kun," Osamu said grudgingly once he'd finished his first application of reiatsu and handed Kali over to his assistants. "You stopped the worst of it. But I'm glad you got her here. What the hell was she doing to get these kinds of injuries? They look like Hollow claw marks."

"They are," Hayato said shortly, and glanced at Daisuke-san.

Daisuke-san nodded. "Well, we don't actually know exactly what it was she was doing, and if you would be so kind as to allow her to recover from her injuries, we can ask."

"Is he hurt?" Osamu nodded in Kaoru's direction, eyeing the bloodstains that marked his clothing.

"No. I am not." Kaoru's tone was terse. "This is Ito-kun's blood. How long is it going to take?"

Osamu blinked. "She won't wake up until at least tomorrow. Too much blood loss, and even if we managed to heal up those wounds, she'll probably sleep a while. We'll have her in room 135 so we can observe her."

Kaoru turned to Daisuke-san. "If I might be dismissed from this... exercise... I would like to go cleanse myself and then come back?"

Daisuke-san nodded and addressed all the young men. "That is entirely reasonable. Everyone is dismissed from this winter exercise to do as they see fit."

"Oh," Osamu said, absentmindedly. "Ukitake-kun is in room 129. He's just broken his fever, so any of you can visit now. He... he's a little fragile at the moment, though, he hasn't been able to get a decent night's sleep for the last two nights. Breathing problems. But he should be safe, now."

"Safe?" asked Shunsui.

"Well, he should be improving soon." Osamu's tone was dismissive.

Shunsui ached from the efforts of the day. He reeked of a week without bathing, and was gummy with the stickiness of sweat all over his skin. He was starving from all the reiatsu use and felt hollow himself from all the fear of the day. He realized that if Jyuushiro was safe, he could wait for at least the time it took to take a bath and get a meal from the school kitchens.

He followed the other students out the door and really, really enjoyed the first hot bath and first multi-course meal he'd had in more than a week. He felt as if he should be worried about Jyuushiro, but, instead, his mind gnawed at the problem of what Kali had found that had nearly killed her.

Then, in the dark, crunching through the old snow, he walked back to the infirmary to check on his friend.

* * *

**Acknowledgements**

Thank you to lj's summerqueen for helping me with Daisuke's zanpakutou's name. Take(bamboo), kaze(wind).


	15. Breathe

Shunsui made his aching way across the campus, thinking as he walked. Their room was still cold and dark; warmer, physically, than the snow shelters he'd shared with Kenshin, but still empty. Kenshin's reiatsu had been much smaller than Jyuushiro's and not so familiar until the end of the week.

He got to the infirmary and remembering the last time, he shut the door quickly after himself. Tanaka Jirou gave him a small nod, lantern light glinting off his glasses. He was another Academy student that was doubling up as a combat healer and Shunsui had seen him in kido classes.

Shunsui signed in. Jirou went back to his book, and made no sign of objection as Shunsui walked down the same hallway he had walked down a whole week ago.

Shunsui felt different, though. He felt very different from how he had felt a week ago. He felt lighter, somehow. Stronger. The mountain and the hardships out in the cold had honed him in some way and given him connections to someone other than just the man he was about to see. The other tactics students had seen him, seen what he could do. They'd accepted who he was, good and bad. They'd used his strengths during that terrible running fight at the end, and he hadn't let them down.

Also, he'd seen what Daisuke-san's shikai could do. After the blessing by that one spirit, after learning how knowing enough might save lives, Shunsui now wanted that kind of strength for himself. Now he knew why he was fighting, why he was at the Academy, and why he wanted to be as good as he could be. His zanpakutou, sheathed peacefully on his right hip, murmured softly, not quite awake, not quite asleep, but he got the feeling it knew he now wanted to fight.

So it was something of a shock, when he knocked on and slid open Jyuushiro's door, to be engulfed by a cloud of fighting reiatsu. It was like walking into a coastal storm, buffeting and blowing, crackling with the scent of lightning and the rumble of thunder.

Shunsui's reiatsu flared in protection, and there was a soft, choked cry from the bed; and then very familiar coughing, as wet and nasty as on the day he'd seen Jyuushiro tested.

The reiatsu around him subsided. Shunsui wrapped his own tighter about himself, quieting his own dismay. "Jyuushiro?" he asked. The room was hot and humid, filled with the scent of something pungent and clear; perhaps, he guessed, something to aid breathing. He was glad to see the charcoal heater in the room.

There were the sounds of a cloth being unfurled and used to wipe something away, and then a soft voice murmured one word between each panting breath. "Shun... sui... how... was... the trip?"

Jyuushiro lit a lantern by his bed. The glow revealed sunken eyes, tight lips, and a drawn face. There was blood on the corner of his lips. Jyuushiro wiped the blood away with an already bloody cloth. He was propped up with some pillows, slender body covered by the sheets and quilts. His white hair sprang in all directions around his face, well beyond rumpled. He looked wild, close to some inner breaking point.

"It was good. You look awful, Jyuushiro," Shunsui said without thinking.

Jyuushiro gave him a soft chuckle. "Sleeplessness... will do... that."

"You couldn't sleep?"

"I kept... dreaming... of... being… crushed." Jyuushiro's eyes closed. "Better... now... but... tired."

Shunsui kept the _This is better?_ that sprung to his mind behind his lips. If the fever had broken, this was, indeed, better. Shunsui was wretchedly glad that he'd come when it was better. He started shedding layers, folding and laying them neatly in a pile in the corner. "And that reiatsu? Are you using that to breathe?"

Jyuushiro nodded quietly. "It... helps."

"Then go ahead," Shunsui said quietly. "I can take it."

"Hurt... when... you... blocked," Jyuushiro said, but he smiled as he said it.

Shunsui thought, he's _smiling _while he's in this bad a shape? But he grinned back. "I'll stay tucked in, then. You just surprised me."

"Stronger," said Jyuushiro, looking up at him.

Shunsui nodded. "I am."

"Tell... me?" The pleading behind the question was naked in Jyuushiro's eyes.

Shunsui moved to kneel by Jyuushiro, "That's why I'm here. Thought you'd want to know what happened to us. We don't even know exactly what happened at the end, but tomorrow we'll see if Ito is up to talking to us about what the hell she was doing when the Hollows found her."

Jyuushiro's eyes grew wide, and his face suddenly filled with intent, rather than the slack tiredness Shunsui first saw when he walked in.

"Let me tell the story, first, and you can then see if you have anything left to ask. Probably easier on both of us," Shunsui said, and Jyuushiro nodded at the suggestion.

Jyuushiro threw Shunsui another glance. He hesitated, then said, between pants, "Can.. you... hold... me?"

"Of course, I was hoping you'd ask." Shunsui stripped down to his loincloth, and slid in behind Jyuushiro. Jyuushiro moved to accommodate his bulk, and then they were together again, body against lean body, skin against skin. Shunsui tucked Jyuushiro under his chin as he had the other time in the infirmary, and felt that same wonder when he felt the slender man relax against him, felt the trembling in the lean muscles lessen, slow.

"Raise your reiatsu, if it helps," prompted Shunsui.

The head under his chin nodded, and then he was surrounded again with that storm surge of power. His own reiatsu he kept tightly to himself, but for a few wisps he used to sense things. He could feel the fact that Jyuushiro was, somehow, limiting the raging whirl that surrounded them to the confines of the room.

Eventually, he realized that the waves in the power around him were synchronized to Jyuushiro's breathing.

Jyuushiro's slender hand twined quietly with one of his own. "You doing all right in this?" He almost sounded normal but for the weight of tiredness underlying his voice.

"Yeah. I think I can ride this, but I'll need a midnight snack or something and I just ate," Shunsui chuckled.

"The infirmary will send a tray in an hour or so, we'll share." Jyuushiro settled back against Shunsui. "Now tell me."

"Right," Shunsui said and gave Jyuushiro a detailed account of the last few days, sparing himself not at all.

Jyuushiro laughed at his solution to the cliff, but his hand tightened on Shunsui's. He asked a few questions during Shunsui's attempted recitation of what they'd all said of each other during the strengths and weaknesses exercise. Jyuushiro's eyes hooded a little at the constant repetition of his physical weakness as his main fault, but he listened wide-eyed at all the weaknesses that the others had revealed. He gave a short cough at Kaoru's, but then looked thoughtful.

"I... I don't forgive easily, either," was all Jyuushiro said to Shunsui's look.

Shunsui went on with the night watch, the setting up of the camps, the days out in the wilderness. How satisfying any food was when eaten while tired and really hungry, the feeling of what it was like to sleep in the snow shelters knowing that the ceiling was always falling in a little bit, and the new way he could see terrain and record it. He told how everyone on the trip had lost their honorifics, though they were all still going by family names. Shunsui referred to Daisuke-san extensively, and Jyuushiro listened carefully.

Then Shunsui spoke of the surprise they'd woken to that morning, and described the running battle of the day. Jyuushiro shifted during that account, but didn't interrupt. When Shunsui got to the part where they managed to get home okay, Jyuushiro's body relaxed again against his and he heard a small puff of a sigh.

"I wish I could have helped," Jyuushiro said. "Is Ito okay?"

"They said she would be, tomorrow. Maybe if you get a good night's sleep we can get you into the debriefing?"

Jyuushiro chuckled and nodded. "It should be easier tonight. My breathing's short, but I'm not fighting the fever, too. It's easier to sleep sitting up. I'm becoming more used to it."

Shunsui automatically leaned his forehead against Jyuushiro's. The skin there was the same heat as his own. "Good."

Jyuushiro smiled tiredly into Shunsui's eyes. "I'd like you to stay, if you want."

Shunsui's own tiredness made him bare his teeth more than grin. "I want." His hands slid along Jyuushiro's skin, and the slender man moaned softly as he arched against the touch. Then he coughed. Shunsui started at the reminder of Jyuushiro's fragility, and he stilled his hands.

Jyuushiro slid his hands over Shunsui's, and then Shunsui felt Jyuushiro start to tremble, and then shudder. The rhythmic surge of power around them both went ragged, and then blew out. Wet drops hit Shunsui's arm, and that was when he realized that Jyuushiro was crying, his body shuddering with sobs he couldn't voice.

Shunsui gathered Jyuushiro closer, pulling in his legs and knees and tucking as much of him in as closely as possible to Shunsui's own body. He stroked that remarkable hair, that bony back, and hugged Jyuushiro close.

Jyuushiro's whispered hiss of rage caught Shunsui by surprise. "I... I _hate _this... I hate... my... breath... I hate... living... this way... I hate... being... like this..." Sobs, when released, turned into racking coughs. Shunsui looked for the cloth, and held it for Jyuushiro, who took it in his own pale hands and caught his own blood and tears.

Shunsui wasn't sure how to fix this. He felt so helpless and powerless, so soon after how powerful he'd felt during the field trip. But he'd seen the cracks in Jyuushiro when he'd first stepped into the room. So instead of saying anything, he just sat there by the man who had just been there when he had been the one racked with weakness, self-hatred, and pain.

Gradually, Jyuushiro cried himself out. Shunsui thought Jyuushiro had gone to sleep, given how still he was, when there was a knock on the door.

Jyuushiro stirred, sluggishly, "Leave... by... door... please."

"Aye," said a female voice. "I have, Ukitake-kun. I hope you enjoy the meal."

"Thank... you."

Shunsui kissed Jyuushiro's hair. In a soft voice he said, "I'll get it."

Jyuushiro nodded. When Shunsui extracted himself, Jyuushiro collapsed on the futon, just curled up on himself. Shunsui went to the door. When the far door to the hallway slid and closed, he opened the door and pulled in a fragrant tray. His stomach growled. He peeked under the covers; it was unagi-don, sweetened, marinated, grilled eel on rice. It had been divided into two large portions, each in their own box, and he grinned a little wryly at seeing two sets of chopsticks by the food. So it wasn't just a double portion for Jyuushiro.

He brought the food over to the futon and Jyuushiro's head came up.

He'd been half-afraid he'd have to feed Jyuushiro, but Jyuushiro painfully rolled over and sat up. Shunsui handed him a box and sticks, and Jyuushiro brought the container to his lips. With no art whatsoever, Jyuushiro started shoveling the food into his mouth.

Shunsui wasn't that far behind him, and he felt better when he was done with his food. He took the empty dish from Jyuushiro. He put both back on the tray and put the tray back out into the hallway. Then he made his way back to the futon, thinking about sleeping sitting up so that Jyuushiro could breathe.

Shunsui stacked pillows; the buckwheat hull ones were solid enough to support him well. He sat in front of them, sliding down enough so that his head could rest back against the cushions. He gathered Jyuushiro into his lap, his arms. Jyuushiro came to him like a sleepwalker, one already half in a dream. Shunsui wrapped himself around his exhausted friend. He pulled the quilts all around them, and leaned back into the yielding support of the cushions. With the warm weight of his friend on him, Shunsui went quickly to sleep.

* * *

Uekiya Daisuke was not having nearly as comfortable a time of it as Shunsui. He had managed to get in a good, long, hot soaking bath in the teachers' bathhouse. It had eased his aching joints. A good meal had rounded off the feeling of contentment. But after those amenities he'd immediately gone to Yamamoto-sama's quarters.

The starkness of the old man's quarters always amazed him. It was like the old general didn't want to acquire anything that he couldn't take out into the field with him. It was just a single, cold room at the Academy, high above the teaching theaters. It had polished wood floors, tatami, and a few privacy screens for a sleeping area and wash area. The eating area had a table with quilts spread all around it.

One painting hung on the wall by the eating table. It was of a massive, old, gnarled pine tree with black-green needles jutting out from the wall of a snow-covered cliff. Endurance and longevity through uselessness, perseverance in the face of suffering, it seemed a perfect symbol for Yamamoto-sama's existence.

_It's not like you're that much different, Gardener,_ Takekaze murmured to him in a rustling of leaves.

_True, true. But my mementos are living._

_Not in mid-winter._

_They merely bide their time._

Yamamoto-sama shuffled in. A servant scurried around him to add glowing coals to the smokeless charcoal table heater that was the one concession to the weaknesses of the body. The servant burrowed under one of the quilts and came up again without the coals and then scurried off again.

The kotatsu's burner was set into a depression under the table. Daisuke placed himself on the east side of the table, pulled up the quilt, and set his legs into the warmth. The heat traveled up his kimono and he sighed in comfort. He asked for a cup of hot water when he'd first come in. The thick earthenware cup comforted Daisuke's hands, which ached with cold.

"Good evening, Daisuke-san."

"Good evening, Yamamoto-Genryuusai-soutaichou."

"Interesting. Being thoroughly formal today, are we? Is this a reporting situation, my gardener?" Yamamoto settled himself on the North side of the table, pulling the quilts hanging over the side of the table over his lap. He sighed. The servant brought an earthenware cup of tea to him. Daisuke could smell the bitter green scent of a whisked matcha, and saw the lovely light green foam on the surface. The old man wanted clarity, hm?

"It is, sir," Daisuke said. He met his old captain's eyes and saw them narrow.

"A grouping?"

"Three groups, all appearing this morning, starting about twenty miles north by north west, and then at three miles in and two miles in beyond that. The first group contained two smart ones, six small, with a flanker. Then one with six small. Then two in enfilade, west of our group."

Yamamoto-sama absorbed the information. "You force-marched those children twenty miles today?" He gave a great sigh. "Faithful gardener."

"Thank you, sir. They didn't complain at all."

"Casualties?"

"One. Ito-kun is injured." Daisuke frowned. "Though it was almost as if they lured Ito-kun out when she was on watch. Not that she's hard to intrigue, but it looked deliberate. Something hadn't blundered into the trip line, but found it and played with it to make her curious. We'll have to see what she says in the morning."

"Her family is shouting about pulling her from the Academy. Too dangerous for a woman, they say."

Daisuke snorted, "As if it isn't dangerous for the men, too."

"But she is the only female in the tactics group."

"And can hold her own with the boys. She's used to dealing with her brothers, I suspect."

"What do you think of them, gardener? The children?"

"They are being honed. Still young, still brave, still growing like young shoots. I wish I had their energy. It was startling to watch Kyouraku-kun suddenly solidify when called on. Ryuu-kun stepping up for the others was unexpected. Shiba-kun's brash, but really does hold up his end of things. Kuchiki's attachment to Ito-kun may complicate things badly, especially if... no... when Family politics start in on them. I don't want her brothers calling duel on him for inappropriate contact."

Yamamoto-sama chuckled. "Yes. When. I will fend off the powers that be as I am able. For now they need to keep getting stronger as quickly as they are able. When they prove their abilities, the Families may be more amenable to their leadership."

"Aye, sir. And the groupings?"

"Ah, yes. The groupings. The stronger, better fed Hollows may be organizing hunts on the gifted. There have been disappearances in that area of people with high reiatsu. The numbers are rising. It may have just been misfortune that prompted this particular attack..."

"... but unlikely?" Daisuke finished his old commander's thought.

Yamamoto-sama nodded, "Three sets of Hollows, rather than the random loners each hunting on their own. Packs. One pack with two of the bigger ones working together seems utterly improbable without some sort of treaty or agreement on their part. Bad enough that they are not just eating each other, they now seem to be actively hunting souls together."

Daisuke shivered quietly, even in the warmth of the heater. "Are we..." Daisuke started and then stopped.

"... taking the correct actions?" Yamamoto-sama continued. "I do not know for certain. This reaction was, if not expected, at least anticipated as a possibility. We will do what we can, including more regular patrols on our part just to understand the extent of their cooperation."

"How do we hold off the Families if they find that the threat has worsened? What about support from the Hatsuzora clan? How will showing them what these kids do persuade them to help the Academy?" Daisuke was confident enough in his commander to ask the questions that most bothered him.

"The threat may bring the Families in even closer together. Nothing unites like a common enemy. The children may well hasten Hatsuzora joining us by demonstrating capabilities that they cannot easily train in their own youth. Perhaps there should be some demonstration of capabilities at the end of the year, a testing for positions of responsibility and command for the following year." Yamamoto-sama met Daisuke's gaze.

Daisuke considered. "That might work, especially when the noble families are convinced that they will always be superior. If they prove to be even more so with the Academy... that may well help."

"And it would leave the door open for anyone of ability to test high enough for the command positions," Yamamoto-sama said.

Daisuke chuckled, "Yes, even those of us who were once lost souls from Rokongai."

Yamamoto-sama nodded. "Exactly so."

"They won't like that," Daisuke said quietly.

"That is so," Yamamoto-sama said. "But if we are to muster enough strong souls to combat the gathering forces, it will have to be done."

Daisuke bowed his head at that statement. "I wish Ukitake-kun had been able to go with us. Though... maybe his apparent disability will make the highborn even more likely to agree to the testing."

Yamamoto-sama nodded. "The disguise should serve that purpose."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that too strong a description, disguise? Are we hiding strengths from an enemy?"

"Yes," Yamamoto-sama said with a slight smile. "I believe we are."

Daisuke rocked back at that. So, the old General thought that the Families and their politics were his opponents in a struggle to marshal the gifted souls in Soul Society. This could prove very interesting indeed. He sipped his lukewarm water and sighed. Daisuke didn't particularly like interesting, he liked boring, quiet was nice, too.

"Is there anything else you would like to know, sir?" Daisuke asked quietly.

"What time will you be looking in on Ito-kun? And would you like me to make an appearance as well?" Yamamoto-sama asked.

"I intend to be there just before the second morning check, around 8 a.m.," Daisuke answered. He frowned a little. "I'm afraid they will watch their words far more carefully if you are there, so I would prefer that you not come and make them second-guess their answers."

Yamamoto-sama nodded. "Very well then. Good luck and do your best."

"Thank you, sir."


	16. Coming Clean

Jyuushiro awoke to see just the faintest light against the paper walls of the building. His eyes felt hot and swollen, and his mouth felt as if a mouse had taken up residence and died there. But he was awake and breathing, and not quite as congested as he'd been the night before. He took a slow and tentative deep breath and was relieved that he could breathe it out as well, with only a small cough at the end of it. Better. Definitely better.

Shunsui snored by Jyuushiro's ear, arms slack against the futon and supporting pillows. Remembering all those mornings when he couldn't wake the bigger man up to save his life, Jyuushiro thought about just getting up and cleaning out his mouth and, maybe, for the first time in a few days, getting a bath. The infirmary's baths were supplied hot water in the early mornings and evenings, unlike the student baths, which only had hot water in the evening. Cold water was good for waking up with, but not so good on convalescents.

But it was warm where he was, and the air in the room was chill from the night and the death of the heater's coals. They weren't usually replenished in the night. So Jyuushiro snuggled back in against Shunsui's warmth.

Then there was a knock on the door.

Shunsui's snores stopped and Jyuushiro felt his friend stir.

"Yes?" Jyuushiro asked.

"A message, Ukitake-san," a male voice said from the hallway.

"Tell me?"

"Uekiya-san is holding his debriefing of Ito-san at oh eight hundred in room 135 this morning. He requests your presence if it is at all possible. It is now oh seven hundred. The orderlies are ready to help you with your morning bath if you wish to clean up beforehand." The messenger's voice was crisp and clear.

Jyuushiro took a breath and coughed lightly three times. "Thank you for the message." He took another breath slowly. "Please tell the orderlies I can... I can take care of my own bath this morning."

Shunsui, whose eyes were now open, nodded at that.

Jyuushiro closed his eyes and thought about practicality rather than just show. "But have them make a... moveable chair ready... for after my bath... and breakfast for two."

"Certainly, sir," said the voice and quick footsteps moved back down the hallway.

Shunsui wordlessly supported Jyuushiro as they got up, and Jyuushiro was glad of it as he hadn't stood much for the last couple of days. From his foot locker Jyuushiro pulled on a quilted outer kimono in place of a more traditional yukata. He wanted the extra warmth on the cold winter morning. He pulled out his small tub of tooth-cleaning salt, a clean loin cloth, and the stack that made up a clean student uniform.

Shunsui picked up his own clothing; since he'd cleaned up the night before, it was all fairly fresh. He went over to the table and poured a cup of drinking water to take with them.

The infirmary's baths were all connected to a central boiler room, making the job of getting the hot water to the tubs easier on the staff. There were large, jointed bamboo pipes that ran to each of the rooms. When Shunsui got Jyuushiro to the nearest bath, the tub had already been filled that morning. The water steamed vigorously, and the small room was as humid and warm as his own room had been the evening before. It eased Jyuushiro's breathing.

They put their clothing on a shelf next to each other and peeled off their robes and loincloths. Shunsui then helped Jyuushiro to the washing bench by the room's drain. He set down the drinking water cup and started cleaning his own teeth.

Jyuushiro dipped a finger in the drinking water, and then in the salt, and scrubbed out his horrible-tasting mouth with the grit. It felt so good to just get all that out of there, especially when he used some of the cup of drinking water to rinse with. He spat into the drain. His mouth finally tasted like it might be his own again. He left the rest of the cup for Shunsui.

Shunsui dipped a bucket of hot water from the tub and brought it over. He started pouring the water on Jyuushiro's head, and Jyuushiro half thought about protesting that he could clean himself, but the blessing of the hot water all over his body and his sticky hair shut him up. Then strong fingers moved through his hair, rubbing in soap, and he leaned his head against Shunsui's hip as those big, muscular hands massaged the soap all through his itching, aching scalp. Shunsui rubbed at muscles Jyuushiro hadn't ever even known were on his head and neck. Jyuushiro coughed lightly as he groaned.

"Rinsing," Shunsui warned, and more warm water cascaded all over Jyuushiro's head. Jyuushiro got his hands up and helped to rinse his hair, rubbing out every speck of soap he could feel.

A towel roughly wiped the water out of Jyuushiro's eyes, and he opened them to see Shunsui kneeling before him. Then before he even realized it, Jyuushiro was blurting out, "Do you love me?"

Shunsui snorted, even as he reached for the soap with a washcloth. "No. Of course not."

Jyuushiro told himself that he'd known that. He just... and then Shunsui's hand took the cloth and started rubbing soapy bliss against Jyuushiro's throat and tension-tight neck. Jyuushiro closed his eyes and lifted his chin. The rubbing moved along Jyuushiro's shoulders, strong and smooth and deep enough to make Jyuushiro gasp as Shunsui pushed at aching muscles as if to squeeze the aches and the tightness out of them.

Shunsui said, meditatively, as he made calming circles of suds down Jyuushiro's arms. "Love you. Never. Love is like wine, like a promise of jasmine brought on a spring night breeze. It's intoxicating, stirring the heart and loins, always pulling me into the next concealing shadow. It's a gorgeous mask, sparkling in candlelight, with ruby lips and pearl eyes."

Jyuushiro closed his eyes and listened to the poetry as those hands moved to his chest and stomach. Those strong, steady hands pressed and pushed and stroked the pain out of muscles made sore and hard from days of coughing. Here he was laid out completely before Shunsui, no secrets, certainly nothing hidden. No wonder...

"I chase love like a hind under moonlight. Chase her as if she's my last hope, my last chance. She's beautiful, breathtaking whenever I follow and hunt her with charm, smiles, poetry, laughter, and longing. Love is a dance of innuendo, of hopes lightly fed, of tit for tat. For me, love is the chase, the drinking, the divine beauty of the flower just starting to open, still chaste, still blushing, still hiding the so-raucous life-giving seriousness of the organs underneath."

Shunsui's hands kept moving, deftly and precisely cleaning totally obvious organs Jyuushiro made no move to hide or really, in his state, care about. Then Shunsui cleaned down Jyuushiro's legs, kneading the sliding soap against muscles and aching joints. Down again to Jyuushiro's feet where Jyuushiro groaned and coughed again, as Shunsui rubbed aching arches and sore heels.

Shunsui slid a steady touch up Jyuushiro's legs and hip, and then up his arm. The touch stayed on Jyuushiro's shoulder as Shunsui moved behind him, and Jyuushiro wordlessly leaned a little forward to give Shunsui full access to his back. He heard a quiet catch of breath, and Jyuushiro realized what Shunsui saw when he felt fingers tracing the still thin-skinned scars that laced across his back. His own throat closed on an emotion he could not name.

Shunsui's voice sounded as tight as Jyuushiro's throat felt, as he continued with a bitter tone to his voice. "Love, she captures, takes, intoxicates me until I can't see straight. She taints with bitter jealousy anything I do that does not have her at the center; caring not for my strength, my care, or the world around me. She scorns me at the first crack of my laughing mask, her first sighting of my failures, my weakness, or my ugliness. She pulls me in moaning, and then expels me scolding: I disappoint her, I don't live up to expectations, or I should have known what she wanted. Love, for me, blooms and withers in a moon's change."

Shunsui's touch with the cloth against his back was tender, gentle, almost reverent. Then Jyuushiro felt Shunsui suddenly lean against his back, arms coming around him. Jyuushiro automatically pulled those arms all the way around him, hugging them to himself, pulling Shunsui close enough that Shunsui's laughter and his next words caressed his ear.

"I will never tell you I love you, Ukitake Jyuushiro. I'd sooner tell my zanpakutou or my left arm I loved them than say something like that to you. I trust that they'd abandon me sooner than you."

Jyuushiro closed his eyes at those words, at being given far more than he'd ever thought to hope for. The right hand and arm might guide a two-handed strike, but the true power came through the strength of the left. To be that necessary, equated to that part of Shunsui's strength...

Shunsui released Jyuushiro, and summarily emptied two buckets of hot water over his head.

* * *

Jyuushiro almost passed out when Shunsui helped him carefully lower himself into the big wooden tub of the bath itself. It was so hot and so good against all the aches he hadn't known his illness had given him. Instead, he just lay there, nerveless, for the few minutes he could. He was heated through when Shunsui nearly had to lift him out of the tub, and he sat on the edge of it, wavering, until Shunsui was out and gave him a shoulder to lean on to walk the short distance to the changing benches.

Shunsui rubbed him down with the big drying towels, and, finally tired of how helpless he felt, Jyuushiro tried to stand and get his own clothing. He had to sit down, but then, determined, got up again and when his head stopped spinning quite so much, he managed to find his loincloth and wrap the strip of cloth around himself. He managed the kimonos, both under and over; but he had to sit down to get his hakama on over the kimonos and then stood up to pull them over his hips. The folds and ties, so familiar, were slower to do than he liked; but he managed.

Shunsui nearly carried him back to the room, where their breakfast and a rolling chair was waiting for them. When Jyuushiro ate, he was relieved to find that it helped his energy immensely. But despite that, he sat down in the chair with the wheels on each leg, and let Shunsui tuck quilts around him.

"I look like Oba-san Akane," Jyuushiro said, chuckling.

"You are quite cute," Shunsui said, tilting his head to consider Jyuushiro. "All clean and shiny and hollow-eyed and totally worn out and..." Shunsui shook his head and ran his hand through his still-damp hair. "Never mind."

"Well, better I go in a chair than fall over in the middle of the debriefing," Jyuushiro said. Then he gave a few small coughs, half experimentally. No, it wasn't as bad at all.

"Instead, you'll interrupt everyone with your coughing. Charming," Shunsui sounded more amused than his words suggested.

Jyuushiro chuckled, coughed again, and rolled his eyes. "Please get some of the cloths, so I don't make a mess, too. That will have to do in place of charm, sorry."

"Sure," said Shunsui and pulled a few from the stack by the bed. Jyuushiro snagged them to hold in his lap.

Then they rolled off down the hallway, and up from the wing of the building into the corridor that led through the center of the infirmary. At Ito-kun's doorway, Shunsui knocked on the door frame.

"Come in." It was Daisuke-san's voice.

Jyuushiro slid open the door and Shunsui pushed his chair in. All eyes swung to him, and most of them went wide-eyed with whites showing. He looked that bad, hm? For an instant he almost wanted to just stand up and walk on his own, but that would just be stupid. Instead Jyuushiro assayed a cough, and it came obediently with a few relatives as well.

Hayato's nose wrinkled and he looked away. Kenshin looked embarrassed. Kaoru only had eyes for Kali; hardly surprising. Jyuushiro was surprised to find Daisuke-san looking at him with something close to approval.

"Good morning, sir," Jyuushiro said politely.

"Good morning," Daisuke-san answered.

"Doesn't look like that good a morning," Kenshin said frowning. "You look like someone pounded both your eyes and sucked out your marrow. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I invited him," Daisuke-san said.

Jyuushiro was astonished when that shut Kenshin right up, and Hayato nodded and lost that pinched look. Kaoru even looked away from Kali and to Daisuke-san when he said that, and focused on Jyuushiro. Then Shunsui walked around Jyuushiro and exchanged a look with Hayato that made the hawk-faced young man relax and lean back against the wall behind him. Kenshin lightly punched Shunsui's shoulder and grinned.

Jyuushiro wondered if they even understood how much they'd changed in that week away. He swallowed his regret, and looked up to see Daisuke-san looking at him.

"You see it, don't you?" Daisuke-san asked.

Jyuushiro nodded. "Yes, sir."

"See what?" Hayato asked, raising one eyebrow in challenge.

Daisuke-san nodded at Jyuushiro, but Jyuushiro wasn't quite sure what to say or how to say it. "Uhm... you have all changed."

Shunsui blinked, "Changed?"

"You're... more... solid. You each trust each other more. Depend on each other more," Jyuushiro said, knowing he trusted Shunsui not to bait him.

"How can you see that?" Kenshin asked, his brow knotting.

Jyuushiro laughed, "Shiba, you have Kyouraku's back covered, and he yours. Ryuu has taken the line that covers the door when it opens. And Daisuke-san..."

"Yes?" prompted the old man.

"... everyone glances at you, sir, when they say anything. It's also very impressive when you can get Shiba to agree with you just by stating your case. Well, that and have Shunsui speak of you in glowing terms nearly every other sentence when he described what happened over the course of the trip."

"Every other sentence?" Shunsui looked surprised. "I didn't do that, did I?"

"Just about," Jyuushiro said.

Daisuke-san blinked at that. "Really?"

"Really, sir." Jyuushiro politely brought up a cloth and coughed into it. Then he asked, "How is Ito doing? Is she..."

"I'm awake," Kali said tiredly from her futon. "The second medical team did a good job last night after they shored up Hayato's work. Just some deep cuts. They say the blood loss was the worst part."

Hayato leaned in proprietarily at Kali's words, and Jyuushiro saw his eyes trace what he could see of his handiwork.

Shunsui came back and pushed Jyuushiro's chair in closer to Kali's futon, then knelt down next to her.

Hayato stayed where he was by the wall and no one objected. Daisuke-san and Kenshin drew closer.

"So. What happened?" Shunsui asked Kali. Jyuushiro stole a glance at Daisuke-san. He'd expected the older man to lead the questions, but there was no sign at all of surprise or dismay, just a nod to go ahead.

Kali pressed her lips together, paused, and then started her story. "It was just when the sun had come up and daylight had lightened the snow until I could almost see the colors of the trees. The trip line shivered. It didn't swing far enough to pull the line out of shelter the way it would if someone had just blundered through it, but it went far enough I saw the mark on the line move from the marks at the watch end. Then it did it again. Just a tiny movement.

"I wondered if it was a mouse trying to make off with a bit of line for food or a nest. Or some other beast looking for who knows what."

She shrugged, and then looked up at all those eyes fixed on her. She shrugged again, "I screwed up. I'm sorry I put you guys through all that. I know what I should have done."

"Which was..." Kaoru said, quietly.

"Oh, damnit, you're going to make me say it, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I should have found it, and when I was in sight of it, I should have run like mad back to the camp and..." There were heads shaking all around the bed, and Jyuushiro couldn't help but grin.

Kali threw her left hand up in the air, as her right arm was thick with bandages. "Right. Okay. As soon as the damned line moved, I should have come and gotten you all."

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Shunsui asked with the sweetest of his smiles.

He only got a growl for his troubles.

"But what did you see that led you even further away?" asked Kenshin.

Kali wrinkled her nose. "I felt it more than saw it. Just that weird reiatsu of a hollow, but... weak. Almost like it was trying to hide, or was sick or injured or... agh." Kali made a face. "I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was like it was trying to keep my attention off it..."

"So, naturally, you followed it." Kaoru's tone was dry.

"Well, yeah. I had my zanpakutou, I didn't figure there could be something to be frightened of when it felt that weak. I followed it." Kali started to look angry. "You guys can't tell me you wouldn't have done that."

Kenshin raised his hand, "Well, I probably would have."

Shunsui nodded, "Me, too."

Kali's face relaxed. Jyuushiro sighed and sat back from where he'd leaned forward at the tension.

"But now?" Daisuke-san asked.

All four of the guys that went on the trip just shook their heads. It was Shunsui who laughed. "Now we can see what happens if we ignore your instructions, Daisuke-san. That won't happen."

Kali chuckled at that. "I promise it won't happen with me again. But I did the stupid thing and followed it's limping trail out into the woods. It was lucky that it was to the south, back towards home."

"Or else it planned it that way? To make you feel... safer?" Jyuushiro said quietly.

Kali blinked at that, "I hadn't thought of that, but that makes sense. Some part of me, I guess, was thinking you were going to follow me eventually. It led me on for a bit, slowly enough to keep me interested. Lucky for me, it was also slow enough for you to catch up. That was when those bloody Hollow reiatsues all popped out all at once.

"I turned and shunpo'ed away as fast as I could, but then one Hollow popped up right in front of me. One of the really big ones. I managed to get my zanpakutou out, but only did limb damage before it hit me hard enough to knock the wind out of me and then a number of the small ones jumped me all at once.

"I got one of them before it could tear my arm off; but then the big one swept them all off me and picked me up and hit a tree with me. That's the last thing I remember before waking up here." Kali frowned at all of them. "You must have been fast following me. I had a feeling they were just going to have a picnic right then and there."

If Kali's words shook at the end, no one commented.

"So it led you into a whole group of Hollows?" Daisuke-san asked quietly.

"Yes, sir."

"What have the texts said about Hollow groups?" Daisuke-san said, patiently.

"That they do not happen with any great frequency," Kaoru said. "They are more likely to eat each other than live peacefully in the same space."

Shunsui frowned, "But..."

"The penned Hollows," Jyuushiro said. Everyone looked at Shunsui and then at him. "The gangster had four Hollows in a single pen."

"But he fed them souls," Shunsui said quietly. "I wonder if they'd acquired a taste for easy food so didn't eat each other because there was something tastier to be had together?"

"They are learning to hunt in packs," Hayato said, frowning. "This is dangerous."

Daisuke-san nodded. "The Shihouin Clan has requested the coordinates of the attack and submitted a request to the central ruling committee to exercise their rights of retribution."

"But that is Ryuu land," Hayato said, eyes widening.

"That is why it is a request, Ryuu-kun. They have applied to your Family, and I'm sure that they will not only get permission, but may even be offered an outrider troop from your uncle's forces." Daisuke-san said quietly. "I believe the Clans are gathering in the face of what may be a larger threat than merely what was offered to a group of student."

"Will we march with them? Since we were the ones that were involved?" Hayato asked, eagerly.

"No. You are students, not yet solders," Daisuke-san said firmly. "There will be a time for it, and Yamamoto has asked for regular sweeps through the lands of Soul Society. Your training may extend to accompanying those troops. But you will not be in on whatever strike there is for the nest that we stumbled upon."

"And ran from," Kenshin said bitterly.

"All the way home," Shunsui said in the cadences of a child's rhyme.

There was silence for a moment.

Then Jyuushiro raised his hand quietly. Everyone blinked at him. The old classroom manners suddenly felt completely out of place to Jyuushiro, but he hadn't quite known what else to do.

"Sorry. Uhm. From what I heard you cleansed them all the way home, not just ran." Jyuushiro persisted in an even more deadly silence. "And... apologies in advance as this may be the most stupid question ever. But, sir, I was wondering why you didn't use Hell butterflies after you'd secured Ito-kun and started back. Then you might have gotten backup along the way?"

Everyone stared at him even harder.

It was Hayato who surprised everyone by suddenly breaking into laughter. "_That_ is why Shunsui wants you in. Damnit. Why didn't we do that?"

"Because we didn't think of it?" Daisuke-san said, his amusement and rue clearly evident. "Because I'm an old warhorse used to the limitations of the living world, not one born to this one? Whatever the reason, I would be glad to include you and your not-quite-so-stupid questions in our next excursion, Ukitake-kun."

Jyuushiro blushed and coughed.

Kali laughed, "Aww... so cute."

Everyone laughed, and the tension in the room broke for good. Jyuushiro sighed and caught his coughing in another cloth. It was going to be work to catch up, to fit into this group that had experienced something together without him. Shunsui's hand dropped lightly on his shoulder. But he had a stronghold within it, and he was now sure Shunsui wouldn't just leave him behind.

Well, life without a goal would be boring, so he might as well get used to it.


	17. Homework

Shunsui delivered Jyuushiro back to his room after the debriefing, and gently helped the white-haired man back to his bed. Jyuushiro coughed a few times, and curled up under the covers, eyes already heavy again.

"I need to get to class," Shunsui said quietly, and stroked Jyuushiro's hair.

Jyuushiro nodded and closed his eyes at the touch.

"Should I bring homework assignments back for you?"

Jyuushiro opened his eyes to smile. "No need to. Hoshiko-chan has been watching out for me all week. I suspect she'll come at the official visiting hours."

"Along with the rest of her friends?" Shunsui said, laughing.

"Of course. You're entirely welcome then, too, you know." Jyuushiro smiled and saw Shunsui respond with a smile as well, but the big man's eyes were still dark. "We seem to do a lot of the homework together, they give me their lecture notes and I work with them on the assignments."

Shunsui nodded. "Does... Rina come?"

Jyuushiro looked up at his friend, eyes narrowing just a bit. "Sometimes. Probably today, there's the kidou assignments and she seems to enjoy working on those with us."

"I'll probably see you at the usual visiting hour then," Shunsui said. "Sleep well."

"I will. It's good to be clean again. Thank you."

Shunsui chuckled. "You're entirely welcome. Now, go to sleep."

"Yes, sir," Jyuushiro said and the world sank away in soft, clean warmth.

* * *

Jyuushiro didn't wake up until someone knocked gently on the door.

He awoke as he usually did, simply coming to alertness. "Come in?"

A tall, slender girl with long black hair and an Academy uniform slid open the door and peeked in. She held a large lunch tray easily. "Ah, your friend has gone?"

Jyuushiro coughed, found a cloth, and she waited patiently until he was done. Then he nodded at her and, short of breath, just said, "Classes."

"You're both Academy students, too?" she asked, her white oval of a face tilting just a little.

"Yes. Your year?" Jyuushiro asked, sighing as he got his breath back.

"This is my second year, so I'm part of the first class. Father thought learning how to fight would be a good idea, but he didn't let me start at the infirmary until last week. Said I wouldn't learn much here, yet."

"Ah, you're Yuuma-san's daughter?" Jyuushiro asked, as he noticed a physical resemblance between the girl and gentle Yuuma-san. Yuuma-san was the leader of the first of the three medical squads that rotated through twenty-four hour shifts. Osamu-san led the second and Kiyoko-san led the third, but Yuuma-san led the whole healers' organization.

She nodded, and then hefted the big tray onto Jyuushiro's lap. "I'm afraid the kitchen thought you still had your guest."

Jyuushiro studied the tray, the bowl of umeboshi-chazuke with the small dish of pickled ume fruit on the side along with a big box of chirashizushi. There were four kinds of pickles, another soup, and a plate of inari sushi as well. His stomach growled and he smiled. "No... they got it right. There's only one set of utensils and only one serving of things."

She blinked. "You're going to eat all of this?"

"Yes. Unless you want some of it, too?" Jyuushiro asked. "Or do you have other duties?"

She looked taken aback. "I have other lunch deliveries to make. I was just... surprised."

Jyuushiro shrugged. "I seem to burn through it quickly. Thank you for the meal."

She smiled. "May you enjoy it." And she slipped out through the sliding door, closing it quietly behind her.

* * *

Jyuushiro napped fitfully after lunch, and was glad when the official visiting hour came.

Small feet pattered down the hallway and then came to his door, and there was a gentle knock on the door frame. He said, "Come in!"

A group of four girls all came in.

Hoshiko-chan led the group, which included Akemi and Mei from earlier, and they'd brought along Shunsui's Takahashi Rina, looking a bit better in the last few days than she had more than a week ago.

"Good afternoon, Ukitake-kun!" All four girls chorused and, chattering, they spread out around his futon and the low table in the room.

"Good afternoon," Jyuushiro said, and then smothered several coughs behind a cloth. Hoshiko-chan laid a hand on Jyuushiro's back and he leaned into the touch a little.

There was another knock on the door and all the heads in the room swiveled to see.

"Come in?" Jyuushiro asked after he caught his breath.

A man all in black slid open the door and gave a formal bow of greeting from a subordinate to a junior officer. Jyuushiro blinked at that, and there was a low murmur from the table full of girls.

"Shihouin-sama wishes to accept your invitation in two days to a..." The even voice paused just a moment, "... snow fort building effort here in the outdoor quad of the infirmary. She hopes that this missive finds you better, and has asked me to take back a report on your condition."

Jyuushiro hm'ed as he finished wiping up the last small traces of blood. "A written report? Or...?"

"Just a verbal report, sir. My own observations plus whatever you wish to add."

Jyuushiro chuckled. "Tell her than in two days I'll be sufficiently recovered to at least watch the proceedings. And that I've invited a few of my classmates and their younger relatives as well."

"Very well." The man saluted Jyuushiro and Jyuushiro, unused to that, fumbled a bit and then saluted him back. The man bowed and vanished in a puff of smoke.

All the girls ooo'ed in surprise, and there was a low, appreciative whistle from outside the still-open door.

"Hello?" asked Jyuushiro.

"Good afternoon," Shunsui said, as his head came around the door, and then the rest of him, even after he'd seen Rina in the room. Kenshin and Hayato came in after him.

"Just leave the door open, Shunsui," Jyuushiro said, laughing quietly. He coughed once, lightly. "There's bound to be more."

Kenshin looked just a little white-eyed at finding all the girls in there, but Hayato just peacefully settled himself by the table and got out his study materials. The girls made room for him.

"Shiba-kun," Jyuushiro said. "You have some cousins that are young Shihouin-sama's age?"

"Damnit, Ukitake, you can just call me Shiba." Kenshin glared at Jyuushiro and Jyuushiro bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Uhm... yeah. Kuukaku could come, she's about the right age, I think."

"Ryuu-kun?"

Hayato shrugged, "Uhm... not that I know of, yet... but I haven't been home for a while, too far. We don't have a castle here in Seireitei."

"Shunsui?"

Shunsui rolled his eyes. "Kids? There haven't been teenagers in our family for... centuries."

"Well, I'll have to have you get Kisuke, then, for two days from today."

"What's up?" Hayato asked.

"Yoruichi-chan is coming for a visit in two days to build snow forts and throw a few snow balls and I thought it'd be more fun with kids than just us. But if Kenshin brings his cousin, there's going to be more kids than I can handle."

"She's more than I can handle," Kenshin said, fervently.

Jyuushiro grinned, "Thank you for your assessment, Shiba. So, if the whole tactics and strategy class wants to make a go of it, I'd appreciate it."

"Us watch kids?" Hayato asked, looking a little horrified.

"How hard can it be?" Shunsui asked. Kenshin snorted. The girls all giggled except for Rina.

Rina was watching Shunsui. Jyuushiro saw Shunsui shift under her gaze, and then, purposefully, he moved towards her. Gently, he took her elbow, and they went out in the hallway.

Everyone else looked at each other. Jyuushiro coughed. Hoshiko-chan and Mei-chan drew close to him. He smiled as he looked up at them, "What was the lecture about today?"

Relieved at the opening he gave them, everyone started talking about the day's classes and homework.

* * *

Two more women and a young man came down the hallway and turned into Jyuushiro's room. Shunsui steered clear of them, and headed down the hallway and into one of the cool, quiet, dark, unused rooms. Rina followed his lead.

Shunsui had promised Kali he'd do this, but some part of him wasn't quite sure why. He'd always skipped from girl to girl, just going where his heart, his desires had led him, never really assuming that he was going to stay with any one for very long. And it had always felt like they understood that he was moving on.

But it was different this time. He and Rina had started months ago, and he hadn't gone to another woman this time. She had been there after the flogging. She hadn't ever demanded things of him that he couldn't give, hadn't told him he disappointed her even when he had disappeared for weeks before the winter exercise.

When they entered the room, she turned to look at him.

"You're looking well, Kyouraku-kun," she said softly. "The winter exercise seems to have done well by you."

"Thank you, Rina-chan. I'm still pretty sore, though," he said, and felt lost as to where to start on Kali's request of him. "You are looking well, too."

Rina blushed and her head lowered. "But..." she said softly.

"But?"

Rina's head came up and her eyes sought his. "But you don't come to my rooms anymore. You don't touch me anymore when I'm near. You don't... look at me... that way anymore. Was it something I did? Something I am?"

"No... no..." Shunsui's hands came up and he spread them in a helpless shrug. All he could think of was to just take all the blame and run. "It's not you. It's never you... I... I'm just fickle."

Rina's shoulders sagged. "If... if it isn't me, then there was nothing I could do?" Her voice broke.

Shunsui sighed, unhappy at the pain in her voice. Then he broke his own resolve and took her into his arms. "I... I don't know, lovely Rina-chan. I just..."

"You don't love me," she stated around her tears. But her arms crept around him, and she was so soft and warm in his arms.

"I... I don't think I do, anymore. I don't... burn for you anymore. But you've been so very kind to me." Shunsui said those words knowing they might hurt, but surely better now than dragging things on.

Rina's breath caught and then she laughed amid her tears. "You are very kind too, Shunsui. One of the reasons I've loved you so. May... may I just have one last kiss? You've said that I'm lovely and nice, so I... I can be content with how you see me, even now. But... I would like one last kiss."

Shunsui grinned his crooked grin. "How could I refuse such a plea?"

Lightly, he stroked Rina's cheek and lifted her chin. He gently brushed his lips against hers, until he could feel her breath quicken. Then he deepened the kiss, catching her soft lips with his, and her lips opened to his. He ran just the very tip of his tongue lightly against the inner rim, and then deepened the kiss just a bit more. Her body melted in his arms. He sighed softly and broke the kiss, but held her slender softness close to him.

She hugged him hard, face against his shoulder. And then she turned her head to smile at him. "Thank you, Kyouraku-kun"

"You're very welcome, Takahashi-chan."

They walked back to Jyuushiro's room. Jyuushiro didn't even look up as Shunsui and Rina returned his room: he was frowning too intently over some papers with Hoshiko-chan and Subarou-kun.

Shunsui drifted closer. Rina went over to sit by Mei and Akemi who all hugged her, and gave him speculative looks. There were another three women Shunsui didn't even know, and two men that Jyuushiro spoke to using their given names with a kun honorific. Shunsui went over to the futon and knelt at one edge.

There was another knock on the door frame, and Jyuushiro sounded almost irritated when he said, "Come in. It's open."

Shunsui looked to see who it was, and a willowy young woman walked in with a large tray of snacks, a teapot and several teacups. She was in uniform, but her hair was like a waterfall of midnight darkness.

She frowned at the table now filled with homework and papers, and Shunsui and Hayako and the girls hastily cleared space for the tray. She smiled and set it down and Shunsui couldn't help but notice the curve of her arms, the gracefulness of her back, the...

Shunsui closed his eyes and forced himself to just look at the books and papers on the sheets in front of him. He was attracted. He knew himself well enough that he wasn't ashamed of that fact; but he knew that he could, at least, keep from acting on that attraction for Rina's sake, for just a little while.

The girl picked up one of the teacups, filled it with hot tea and took it over to Jyuushiro, who smiled up at her and took it. Jyuushiro's sigh of relief as he breathed in the steam as he sipped was audible. "Thank you."

Shunsui leaned towards Jyuushiro, "What are you working on?"

"It's the basis of several attack spells. There's something in all the spells for taking a piece of our reiatsu, and there's parts of the spell for shaping it into the thing that actually does the attack, be it fire, lightning, wind, restraints, healing or whatever we need. On most kidou spells, it's hidden, entwined..." Jyuushiro broke off his explanation to cough.

It got worse, and the long-haired girl handed a cloth to Jyuushiro, one hand stroking his back. Jyuushiro took it, held it to his face, and red bloomed through the folds of it as the force of the coughs shook his frame. Hoshiko came close to him, wrapped her arms around Jyuushiro. Jyuushiro didn't lean into her, but he made a visible effort to slow his coughing and breathe.

Shunsui stayed where he was. He felt an odd mix of wanting to go to Jyuushiro and knowing that Jyuushiro could take care of that level of coughing on his own. Also, Jyuushiro wouldn't appreciate it if he showed too much concern in front of the other Tactics class students.

Jyuushiro tugged on Hoshiko's sleeve, and she bent her ear to his mouth. He whispered something short between coughs. She grinned wryly, and glanced at Shunsui.

Shunsui raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"If you don't mind, I'll finish the explanation," she said with a smile.

"Oh. Certainly, anything to hear more of your lovely voice, Hoshiko-chan," Shunsui said smoothly.

She laughed. "Well, it is based on my research with Kuchiki-sama, so I should know it quite well, no matter how fast Jyuushiro-kun picked it up."

"Kuchiki-sama is teaching and testing based on research work?" Shunsui asked, surprised.

"Oh, no... I was just asking Jyuushiro-kun to doublecheck my work before I presented it, but that's what he was working on when you came up."

Shunsui blinked and looked at Jyuushiro. "You're _helping _her with her research?"

Jyuushiro shrugged and coughed more delicately into a cloth.

Hoshiko laughed merrily. "Yes, it is a great deal of fun, I can just give him the results of the tests, theories, and he's great at picking out problems and giving me new ideas."

Shunsui just shook his head. "And... uhm... when does he do his homework?"

"Oh, he helps everyone out after we chat a bit."

"Okay... uhm... so.. what is this theory you're working with?" Shunsui asked cautiously.

"It's about how to shape reiatsu into something more like our zanpakutou than just the elements that we've used up to this point. It's really the same stuff in some sense, just... there's something that's different in our zanpakutou that's related to shikai and bankai that I haven't figured out how to capture, yet. But Kuchiki-sama has already gotten both levels, and she's willing to let me observe her soul powers on release to see if there's a way to capture that in a kido spell." Hoshiko said, excitedly.

Hayato's head came up at the explanation. He moved over to the futon, leaving his papers. "What are you trying to do... create a kidou that can hit like a zanpakutou?" he asked, eyes widening.

"Pretty close. We're just starting to figure out that it's theoretically possible to cleanse a Hollow with just kidou, rather than only with a zanpakutou." Hoshiko said, blushing under Hayato's intense scrutiny.

Everyone blinked at Hoshiko.

"You lost me," Kenshin said with a roll of his big shoulders. "But that last bit sounds great."

"Indeed," Hayato breathed. "That could change a lot of things. Being able to destroy them from a distance would make a huge difference."

Hoshiko blushed and nodded.

"Well, that sure makes our homework look pathetic," Kenshin said, wrinkling his nose.

Everyone laughed.

"Well, pathetic or not, we need to get it done," Shunsui said, resigned. And they all turned their attention back to their classroom assignments.


	18. Tactical Defeats

The war was going badly for the Tactics and Strategy Class.

Or at least that's what it looked like to Jyuushiro from the couch on the sidelines, which he was sharing with Kali. He and Kali were bundled up until they nearly looked like snow men themselves as they watched the wide field of combat before them.

Having flash step on both sides meant for a fighting style very, very different from the entrench-and-slug-it-out strategy the Tactics boys first attempted to try. They'd dug a shelter, built a wall with the diggings, and then tried to throw snow balls from the center of it. It had worked for them as kids. But these kids...

Yoruichi just appeared over their heads, let loose a whole cascade of snowballs, and then flash stepped away again. Kisuke managed to create some kind of running kidou that mass produced snowballs when he unleashed it. And then Kuukaku started blowing up the walls.

"That's the last f-- agh... dratted straw!" Kenshin roared, as he reared up out of the ruins of the walls of their fort.

Shunsui didn't help matters much by falling over laughing at Kenshin's word substitutions.

Hayato gave a tsk of disgust and leaped high into the air with an armful of snow, and then flash stepped over to where Kisuke was concentrating on his kidou and let fly.

Yoruichi grunted as she drove a flash step through the falling wall of snow, and deflected most of it from hitting Kisuke hard enough to break his concentration.

Hayato laughed and then ooofed as Yoruichi appeared behind him and pushed him unexpectedly. The surprise and change in momentum sent Hayato tumbling, but somehow he tucked, twisted, got a foot against a tree trunk, and flash stepped up into the crown of a different tree.

When Jyuushiro saw that Hayato was safe, he let his breath out in a long sigh that turned into a series of cough.

"Careful, there, Ukitake..." Kali said quietly. "You've only just recovered."

Jyuushiro just nodded, feeling a little wry about that. He was recovering, but more slowly than he wanted. Shunsui was still treating him like he was made of glass. It amused Jyuushiro to suddenly realize that he actually missed the bigger man making passes at him.

Kenshin shouted as he plowed heavily through the ruins of the wall towards Kuukaku, who stuck her tongue out at him. With her lighter weight, Kuukaku skimmed across the top of the snow. When Kenshin managed to get close to her, she giggled and set something off. The sharp bang knocked snow off of the pines above them, and Kenshin, cursing without restraint, was half-buried by the snow.

At least, thought Jyuushiro as he laughed, the snow muffled what Kenshin was saying.

Shunsui got off his butt at that point and just started firing snowballs at whichever child showed themselves. His aim was surprisingly good. When he actually hit Kisuke the ball knocked the child over, stopping the snowball factory.

So, of course, Yoruichi targeted Shunsui. He went down in a shout of laughter and a hail of snowballs.

"He's just like one of the kids, isn't he?" Kali said, laughing.

"Well, at least he's not taking it quite as seriously as the other guys." Jyuushiro said. "Probably to his benefit."

Kaoru just watched from this seat by Kali's couch. Both Hayato and Kenshin had given him a hard time for refusing to join in the fun and games; but he hadn't seemed that disturbed over having to argue the point.

Nakamura Kiyoko, the leader of the third shift of Medical staff picked her way across the snow, holding a large tray with a sake jug and quite a few small cups, as well as a thick-walled pot of some other liquid and plenty of mugs. "Heya," she called, and then started laughing, as Kenshin burst up out of snow that half buried him only to get another armload of snow from Yoruichi. Yoruichi took Kuukaku's hand, and the two girls disappeared in a flash step and landed in one of the pine trees.

"You can _carry someone_ already?" Kenshin yelled. "How the f-- gah, heck can you already carry someone? I can't carry someone, yet, and..."

Yoruichi giggled and both girls yelped, as Hayato started pelting them both from his perch in another tree. Kuukaku slipped and started falling with a scream.

Hayato stepped just as Yoruichi stepped, and Hayato ended up with both girls in his arms. He twisted his body as he fell, and managed to land on his back in the piled remains of the Tactics team's fort. All three of them oof'ed or yelped at the landing.

"That's gotta smart," Kiyoko said, laughing. "Cease fire! Cease fire!! I brought hot drinks, y'all. Y' gotta stop and get 'em while they're hot!"

Hayato helped push the girls up for Shunsui pick up in order to gently place on their feet. Hayato then took Kenshin's forearm for help up. The girls chattered the whole way over to the table, none the worse for the fall. Kenshin just rolled his eyes. Shunsui cocked an eyebrow. Hayato went to the tray, where Kiyoko was pouring.

"It's nigorizake, Ryuu-kun. So shake it and then pour," Kiyoko said, chuckling. "I thought you boys would want something a bit more fortifying than the hot sweet soy milk I brought for the kids and Ukitake-kun."

Jyuushiro sighed, "Soy milk."

"You baby, you," Kenshin said, punching Jyuushiro on the shoulder.

"He is not!" Yoruichi yelped. "It probably does something to his lungs, does it not, Nakamura-san?"

Kiyoko laughed at Kenshin, and tried not to spill the soy milk as she ladled.

Jyuushiro came to her rescue, coughed, and said, "Yes, Yoruichi-chan, alcohol impairs my breathing when I'm already badly off."

Yoruichi smiled.

"Hey, that looks like our soy milk," Kuukaku said as Hayato poured a steaming milky white liquid into the small round ochoko. Shunsui took the first one and sighed with bliss at the first sip, his eyes closing.

"Ew, it smells weird, though," Kuukaku said as she got closer.

"I don't think you'll like this as much as your drink," Shunsui said quietly. "But it's a very nice, unfiltered sake, Kiyoko-san. Thick enough to stand up to the heating. Thank you."

Kiyoko waved off the thanks as she poured four mugs full of the sweet soy milk and gave them to the three kids and Jyuushiro, and then poured a fifth for herself. She plopped onto the edge of the couch with a sigh. "Break time for me, but I gotta get back on duty, so no sake for me. Family sent it, Great-Uncle brewed it up and bottled it."

Kaoru asked, "Kali, which do you want?"

Kali chuckled. "I think I'd like to be like one of the kids, and have the soy milk, please."

"Yay!" shouted Kuukaku. "She wants to be like us!"

Kaoru pulled off his fur mitts, but kept his hand guards on as he poured soy milk for Kali and himself.

Kisuke took his mug in his small hands and tipped it to gulp the contents. "Ow!! It's hot!"

"Drink it more slowly, Kisuke-kun. It's supposed to warm your hands, as well as be a drink," Hayato said severely.

Kisuke hmphed, but did tilt it a bit more cautiously.

Kali smiled tiredly. Her arm was still lightly bandaged. When Kaoru came back to her, she held her hands out for the mug, and wrapped her left hand around it to sip it. "Kiyoko-san, how are the wounded doing?" she asked.

Kiyoko made a noncommittal sound, "There's two that're still touch 'n go at the moment, sweetie. Mosta da rest are stable."

"What happened?" Jyuushiro asked.

"Shihouin clan sent a patrol to ride out with Ryuu clan's. They swept the area around where we were attacked," Hayato answered, studying his drink more than the people around him. "Father sent his scouts out in pairs in a wheel search pattern from where Kali was attacked. The two that headed northeast just... disappeared at the time the other scouts were a mile out from the center point."

Yoruichi frowned a frown that looked odd on her little girl's face. "I'd not heard that part. I just heard that your father's people did a proud job of leading our troops to where the nest was, and that the battle was bloody for both clans. That is the other reason I came to the fighting infirmary today."

"To ask for medics for the next foray?" Jyuushiro asked.

"No," she said. "To visit my mother's injured people and get a more detailed report of what happened, but that is also a good idea, Shiro-kun. Nakamura-san, what do you think of that?"

Kiyoko tilted her head. "I think it's a great idea. I think at least one of those that died might have made it if they'd gotten attention right on the battlefield."

Yoruichi's eyes darkened just a little, but all she did was nod.

Kenshin frowned, and asked Hayato, "What... what did they find? Or... maybe, what found them?"

Hayato's lips twisted. "Yeah. What is about right. By the time the patrols found what was left of the scouts..." He glanced at the children and frowned. "Well, anyway, there was a big group of the small ones, some big ones, and then they got surprised by three huge things that... no one had seem that kind of hollow before."

Kuukaku looked a little sick and she went over to Kenshin, who gently took her into his lap. She snuggled in and he wrapped his big arms around her. She leaned against him, sighed, and sipped her hot drink quietly.

"What did they do?" Yoruichi asked, her frown fierce. "How did they cleanse the nest?"

"Father loosed his bankai," Hayato said. The Tactics students and even the kids made awed sounds. Nobles knew about the possible powers of zanpakutou, as they had seen their own parents demonstrate them. "But even with that backup, half a dozen people were hurt and two killed. The huge things were more powerful than anything we've seen before. The only ones that could even cut them were my father and his lieutenant, who has shikai. I guess those hollows were eating each other, or had found more gifted souls to eat than we'd realized."

"We can't just call them 'huge things'," Kenshin said, his nose wrinkling. "Is there a name for them?"

Yoruichi spoke up. "The report that came to me called them Menos Grande, since they were so large and made from dark soul energy."

Kenshin gaped at her, "You get reports?"

She nodded. "Well, my mother thinks it's good for me to read the reports she gets so I have a better idea of what kind of information I'll have to handle eventually."

"The Clans are pulling together," Kaoru said quietly, "and backing Yamamoto's position because they do not wish to back each other. Even my parents are starting to speak of agreements with Yamamoto, of allowing certain slights to pass with the other Clans, and reining in duels and other minor conflicts."

Jyuushiro asked, "Duels? There are duels between the Clans?"

All the other Academy students looked at Jyuushiro.

"Well..." Shunsui said it slowly. "There aren't supposed to be duels, but everyone knows that they happen. Slights and insults, mistakes and wounded pride, and some idiot takes a sword and does something about it."

"It's one of the reasons why some of our parents were eager to get us into the Academy. Yamamoto made it clear that everyone who came was going to be taught kendo and how to use our reiatsu in a fight," Hayato said. "My sword play wasn't particularly good. I was happier hunting or climbing, but my parents didn't want to leave me wide open as a target if Clan politics got nasty."

"I heard that Tanaka Isamu and Sato Takumi are probably fighting this Saturday over the honor of Takumi's sister. He's going to rip Tanaka-san a new..." Kenshin stopped as Kuukaku stirred in his lap.

Jyuushiro made a choked noise. Kenshin peered at Jyuushiro, "You really had no idea there were duels? Wow.. you really are from the back country."

Jyuushiro blushed.

"Everyone knows that poor Tanaka-san is being targeted, since he's one of the heirs to a major branch of the Hatsuzora clan. Takumi is probably being hired by another potential heir. His sister is just an excuse," Kaoru said, with a quelling look at Kenshin. "It is not as if the Ukitake family is embroiled in high level power plays, now is it?"

"No, we're not, really," Jyuushiro said thoughtfully.

Yoruichi smiled. "That sounds like a good way to live."

Jyuushiro quirked a grin back.

Yoruichi tilted her head to the side. "Well... my mother has spoken of the possibility of creating sponsorships for certain Academy students, so that they can join our Clan's troops. If these grouping Hollows need higher powered fighters to deal with them, the most reliable source for trained people is going to be the Academy."

"Sponsorships... that's interesting. With those, there might be more of those Rukongai b-- .. uhm... souls coming here for schooling," Kenshin said, frowning as Kuukaku looked up at him, puzzled.

"What's wrong with that, Uncle? If they're good..."

Kenshin gave a grin. "Well, they can't be that good if they're not nobles, right?"

Kuukaku wrinkled her nose up at him. "I don't know." She looked over at Jyuushiro. "How will they tell if they're good enough?"

"Probably do some tests on their reiatsu levels," Jyuushiro said thoughtfully.

Kali added, "From what I heard, everyone will still be held to the same standards on the entrance examination for knowledge, strength, and ability to reason."

"Well, that'll take care of anyone that can't make the grade," Kenshin said with satisfaction.

A man in black, with a hood on, appeared in a poof of smoke and genuflected before Yoruichi. "I apologize, Shihouin-sama, but it is time to move onto your next appointment."

"Well, an' my break's over too," Kiyoko drawled quietly. She started gathering up the cups and jugs. The others hastily finished what they could of their drinks, and deposited them on the tray. "I kin escort ya in, if ya like, sweetie."

Yoruichi smiled at the last word. "I'd really enjoy that, Nakamura-san. I would be honored."

"And da resta you, I'll senda coupla orderlies out for ya." Jyuushiro and Kali smiled.

"What about the snowball fight?" Kisuke pouted. "I'm not even tired yet!" His words were cut off by a huge yawn.

Everyone laughed.

"I think, Kisuke-kun, it is time for Shunsui to get you back home. I rule that the kids won. You managed to topple all the walls of the Tactics Team's base, and I think Yoruichi-chan hit everyone far more times than they were able to hit anyone. What say you?" Jyuushiro asked all the faces turned towards him.

"Aye!" everyone chorused.

Kisuke wrinkled his nose. "Oh... all right then. Can I ride piggy-back, Shunsui?"

Shunsui laughed, "Sure, kid."

Kuukaku hopped out of Kenshin's lap and ran to Yoruichi. The black-clad man flinched, but at a look from Yoruichi, he stayed back. Kuukaku threw her arms around her new friend and said, "You are so much fun! I love you! We gotta do this again! Right?"

Yoruichi grinned, "Right. We do have to do this again." She glanced at Jyuushiro and he gave her a nod. He would be sure to ask the Shiba girl over the next time. Yoruichi gave Jyuushiro a smile, and then kissed Kuukaku on the forehead. "It'll be fun to be your friend."

Kuukaku beamed, and hugged Yoruichi again. The ninja flinched again, but stayed out of her line of sight. Then Kuukaku ran back to Kenshin, who eyed the ninja distrustfully, and gathered the little girl up into his arms. "Bye!" Kuukaku said cheerfully. "See you soon!"

"See you!" Yoruichi said, smiling. She took Kiyoko's free hand and they went back to the infirmary, trailing the ninja bodyguard behind them.

Kisuke looked after his friend and shrugged, shoving the hair out of his eyes. "I never thought to hug her," he said quietly. "They were always around... and..."

Shunsui tousled the blond boy's hair so that it fell back into his eyes. "I'm with you. They're scary. You saw his reaction, right?"

Kisuke nodded.

"Then you're the smart one."

"Yeah. Maybe you're right. But I didn't get the hug..." Kisuke said quietly.

Shunsui reached down and lifted the boy up and hugged him. "I know, it's not the same, but..."

Kisuke sighed and hugged Shunsui back, "Thanks, Kyouraku-san. I guess we'd better get me home."

"Sure thing, kid." He gave the rest of the Tactics team a salute, which they returned. Then Shunsui carried Kisuke away, turning the kid upside-down to delighted shrieks before disappearing around a corner.

Jyuushiro had to grin at that and shake his head.

Kali laughed, "Yup. Just like one of the kids."

* * *

Shunsui felt Ryuu-sama knock the shoto from his left hand, yet again; and he was still in no position to strike back with the daito in his right. The short bamboo shinai clattered against the far wall. The whack on his helmet was just an injury added to the overall insult.

Shunsui had done his usual stint for Ryuu-sama as a tutor for the students who weren't doing so well with their swords. Since the whipping, he'd done his penance as Ryuu-sama's assistant, but had chosen to stay at the task on finding that he liked working with the students just as much as he liked the exertion and challenge of being good enough to teach them. Now, having been reminded about the duels amid the nobility, he worked even harder with them.

Ryuu-sama noticed the extra dedication. When he commented on it, Shunsui asked for a private lesson to test his theory about using two bamboo shinai at the same time. Ryuu-sama's eyebrows had gone up, but he'd acquiesced graciously, and now they were at it.

Shunsui wasn't sure if he was glad about that or not.

Ryuu-sama waited for him to retrieve the lost bamboo blade. When Shunsui returned, he asked, "What do you think happened, Kyouraku?"

"I'm... I'm a lot slower than I expected to be." Shunsui frowned. "I was thinking that I'd be faster to react to the left."

"Why did you think you'd be faster?" Ryuu-sama asked.

"Uhm... it's a shorter distance, sir?" Shunsui said, hesitating.

Ryuu-sama nodded. "But what do you think makes up speed in a strike or, for that matter, effectiveness of a block?"

"I thought it was reflex. Just the time between seeing something and doing something about it..." Shunsui frowned. "But it's not just that, is it?"

Ryuu-sama shook his head and instead of giving Shunsui an answer, just waited, watching Shunsui with dark eyes.

Shunsui sighed, "You're not going to tell me, are you, sir?"

Ryuu-sama grinned. "How about we try it again? This time, maybe deal with the fact that you aren't going to be that fast with either sword alone. What can you do with them anyway?"

Shunsui groaned quietly, "Each alone is slower and weaker. What, then, does it buy me?"

"Exactly the question I have," Ryuu-sama said.

"Well... there's now more edge I can swing..." Shunsui said, doubtfully.

"Let's try it again. And this time, remember you don't have all your strength to back up your edges or your blades." Ryuu-sama took his ready stance.

Shunsui took his stance, and thought about what Ryuu-sama had said. He couldn't have all his strength in either blocks or strikes. If one arm or hand were damaged he'd have the same problem. So how would he fight someone that was just that much stronger?

Shunsui shifted his stance to the side a little, holding the longer daito in a slanted overhead stance, and instead of leaving the shoto at his hip or paralleling the longer blade, he held it to threaten at the shoulder level.

Ryuu-sama shifted at that. Good, this was something he hadn't expected. Shunsui shifted again, planted his back foot in preparation, and at the motion, Ryuu-sama blurred into an attack.

Shit. Shunsui twisted to the side, using the planted foot as a pivot rather than doing what he would normally have done, which would have been to do a straight block. Instead, he used the already raised shoto to deflect the blow to his outside, while twisting his body to the right to get it partially out of the way as well. Ryuu-sama lowered his shinai, neatly avoiding Shunsui's block; but by that time, Shunsui's daito had already come down on his helmet. "Men!" Shunsui cried with the moment of the hit.

But that left him straight open to Ryuu-sama's, "Hidari-do!" The sharp crack of the practice blade on his armor would have just sliced him open along the belly if it had been real.

"Gah!" Shunsui said.

"Mmm..." Ryuu-sama said. "Mutual hits. But you didn't lose the blocking blade. You're figuring it out, I think, Kyouraku. You're going to have to develop your strength on both sides, and remember that you're still going to be weaker; but that you can do hits with both blades at any time. You're going to have to learn what a single blade cannot block. You'll have to learn how to deflect. You're going to have to learn how to use both blades independently of each other and control both at the same time. That's..."

"... going to be hard work," Shunsui said sighing.

"And you're going to have to practice against someone good to actually learn good technique and habits. I'd recommend Shiba and Ukitake, when that boy gets out of the infirmary. Their styles are different enough, they'll keep you from getting complacent." Ryuu-sama bowed to Shunsui. "I wish you luck in your pursuit."

Shunsui bowed back, deeply. "Thank you, sensei." And Shunsui was left with a lot to think about.


	19. Touch

_Author's Notes:  
_

_Sorry about the long delay. I got kinda blocked, and incandescens, starkblack, and calmingeffects helped me try and get out of it, so thanks to all of them.  
_

_Also, the title is kind of a foil fencer's pun. I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

Jyuushiro trained.

Jyuushiro always hated how it felt when he'd been ill; but he knew how to deal with it, how to build his strength and endurance back up after the weakness that was always his after a long bed-ridden bout. The shakiness in his limbs and motions was as familiar as his breathing. He knew how to push, what to test, and how to apply weights, running, and the stretching meditative aspects of complex kata in order to regain his strength.

So Jyuushiro spent an extra hour every day, before classes even started, in the dojo.

Ever since the bath, Shunsui had treated Jyuushiro as if he'd been made of spun glass; and Jyuushiro had taken the distance and kept it. They'd slept in the same futon together while Shunsui treated him that way, but Jyuushiro remembered breaking down when Shunsui had touched him. He didn't want to risk that again.

When the dozen other Academy students had shown up at Jyuushiro's infirmary room to help him move all his stuff back to the dorm room, he'd seen Shunsui look a little perplexed at being so surrounded. Jyuushiro had just kept his head down and smiled and talked with everyone else.

Dozens of students now came to their shared room for homework and study sessions after classes, and Shunsui had joined in. But then Shunsui had chased the girls until everyone was distracted; Jyuushiro finally had to shake some sense into the big man so that everyone could work. He'd seen those brown eyes hood at the scolding.

That was when Shunsui disappeared for the night and didn't come back until morning.

Shunsui did come back before class. He was hung over, sporting bruises on his throat, and smelling faintly of hyacinths. Jyuushiro had quietly fed him willow bark tea, and given him a back-of-the-neck-massage that left the bigger man groaning but capable of eating the breakfast Jyuushiro had brought him on a tray.

In the midst of breakfast, however, Shunsui had slid his hand into Jyuushiro's hair. Jyuushiro hadn't pulled away, even when Shunsui had pulled him down and kissed him, slow and hard. Jyuushiro had returned it just as solidly, even though Shunsui had tasted of bitter willow bark tea and a long night. Shunsui had swallowed and lowered his eyes at Jyuushiro's inquiring gaze, but he had hugged Jyuushiro and had gone with him to class.

Since then they'd slept each in their own futons. When Shunsui went out now, he came back at a more reasonable hour, and took a bath before he went to bed.

Still, in the middle of the night, when Shunsui's reiatsu reached for his, Jyuushiro entwined his power with the bigger man's and they both relaxed and slept better for it.

Jyuushiro sweated and panted gently in the dojo. He had done fifteen sets of exercises with weights attached to his bokken, and now he felt good. His sweat was the clean, light sweat of getting back into shape, and the flow of air through his lungs were clear and free.

Jyuushiro stepped and struck, blocked and cut, swung and turned. He kept his legs under him and practiced strikes, trying to get them perfect, over and over, engraining them into his muscles' memories. Twenty times in a row, getting the distance, the jump, the hit exactly right. Another twenty from the other side. Twenty from underneath to the right and then underneath to the left. And again... and again...

"Haven't you killed that poor dummy enough?"

Jyuushiro jumped at the unexpected voice.

"Though, given what hour it is in the morning, it might be better off dead," Shunsui said, musingly. He was in his full armor, except for the helmet, and peeking from the folds of a holding cloth were all the pieces of Jyuushiro's armor. Over his other shoulder were three shinai, two of regular length and one cut down to half length.

"Shunsui?" Jyuushiro wasn't quite sure what he was asking.

"Will you help me, Jyuushiro?"

Jyuushiro frowned, and then nodded. "Of course."

"Then put this on. I need for you to fight me," Shunsui said, handing over the bundle of Jyuushiro's armor.

Jyuushiro looked at Shunsui. "Fight you?"

"Yeah. I need some help with my technique."

Jyuushiro frowned a little at that. Shunsui's skills at kendo, zanjutsu, and kakuda had improved with the extra teaching and extra training he'd done as penance and then just continued. With both of them at the upper end of the martial arts classes, Ryuu-sama had made both of them teach lagging students more often than they'd gone up against each other. And they certainly hadn't since the mountain trip.

But Jyuushiro knew that he could only go so far on his own in his training. The Tactics class was going to start patrolling the various Clans' military units in a week: he needed to be ready. So he took the bundle and donned his armor. Shunsui sat seiza patiently, watching a spot on the floor as Jyuushiro tied and settled his equipment about himself.

"Why, Shunsui?" Jyuushiro asked, not quite sure what he was asking.

Shunsui shrugged. "Because Ryuu-sama said that you would be good for me to try this on."

Jyuushiro nodded. He took one of the long shinai and put it by his right hip.

Shunsui stood, moving as smoothly as a fall of water, and Jyuushiro swallowed hard. Then the bigger man took his stance opposite Jyuushiro. They bowed gently to each other.

"Onegaishimasu!"

Jyuushiro armed himself. Shunsui had his arms crossed, one hand holding each blade by his side. They both drew, and Jyuushiro faced two blades, one held to either side.

"What do you need help with?" Jyuushiro asked, a little daunted.

"I need you to try and knock these from me. It should be easier for you to disarm me when you have both hands on your sword compared to my one," Shunsui said. "I'd also like you to attack me and try and hit me and not get hit, like any fight."

"How are you going to call your strikes if you're striking to two places at the same time?" Jyuushiro asked, fascinated.

"Uhm. I think we'll have to figure that out after I get to it," Shunsui said, laughing. "I haven't gotten that far, yet."

The laughter put Jyuushiro more at ease, and he slid his foot to get a better stance. They circled, and Jyuushiro had to try and think how he could attack Shunsui and not get the other blade at his back.

While Jyuushiro thought, Shunsui swept in with both blades, one on either side. Jyuushiro jumped to the left to avoid the longer blade coming in on his left, and blocked the shorter blade as it swept in from his right. When Shunsui's arms crossed, he leaned in and snapped a blow to Shunsui's side.

The big man couldn't get his arms uncrossed in time. He grunted with the force of Jyuushiro's hit.

"Sorry," Jyuushiro said, contritely.

"No. No... I have to learn what works and what doesn't."

Together they said, "Crossed arms don't work."

"Right," Shunsui laughed.

They moved towards each other again. This time Jyuushiro attacked first, a straight head cut that Shunsui blocked with both blades crossed. Jyuushiro kept his momentum and ran by Shunsui to his own right, and then whirled to his left to block a high strike by Shunsui. He turned with the block and used his momentum to strike at Shunsui again, who blocked with the smaller blade. They made a few more passes.

"You sling a lot of strikes to the side," Shunsui observed. "You don't block directly."

Jyuushiro nodded.

"Shiba hacks away like he's using a meat cleaver, and blocks like he has a staff instead of an edge."

Jyuushiro laughed. "I bet."

He got a flash of teeth from Shunsui from behind the bars of the mask, and he felt lighter than he had in a while.

_You're both being half-hearted about this. You're laughing instead of fighting. You should be using us. Not that bamboo thing,_ said a voice in the back of Jyuushiro's head.

Jyuushiro pulled back startled. _No, I don't want to actually hurt him._

_How_ _else will he learn to use the real powers of his soul?_ asked the voice. Jyuushiro suddenly recognized it as the voices of the fish that were behind his zanpakutou, one voice but oddly doubled, echoed on itself.

"You okay, Jyuushiro?" Shunsui asked.

"Yeah. My... zanpakutou is saying that we ought to be practicing with them, not... with the shinai," Jyuushiro said, troubled.

"Huh," Shunsui said, rocking back on his heels. "Uhm. I guess mine agrees, and is... damnit, shut up! I don't want to hurt him, idiot!"

Jyuushiro's eyes widened, but then he realized whom Shunsui was actually talking to.

_But then he'll actually get cut by his mistakes. I don't want that._

_Avoiding pain is not the answer, Jyuushiro. It will simply motivate his power and his will even more, as it will yours. Then you'll get to show him our true strengths, not just your bamboo skills_.

Jyuushiro snorted a laugh. _But we could kill each other_.

_You will die of your disease. You could die today slipping on a patch of ice. You could die of a bad bit of food. How does that make it any different from the rest of your life?_

_Because this would be of my own choice_ Jyuushiro said quietly.

_Do you really think the two of you are that weak? That a single slip of the blade, now, could end your lives here?_

Jyuushiro paused and thought over the months and months of training his reflexes, of blocks and blows and reactions engrained into his muscle and brain. He thought of not just his strength, but, suddenly, of his trust and respect for his friend's strength.

"Hey. Shunsui," Jyuushiro said quietly, as he dropped to a resting stance, squatting to almost sit on his heels, his knees were apart to make it easy to get back up again.

"Yes, Jyuushiro?" Shunsui asked, looking distracted.

"You really think we could?"

Shunsui looked at Jyuushiro, eyes focusing. "Could what?"

"Fight each other with naked blades and not... not accidentally kill each other?" Jyuushiro said, and realized that his own gut wanted this, wanted to really test his real strength against the bigger man, as much to take both their measures for real as for the fight itself.

Shunsui frowned, and then grinned a grin the matched the feeling in Jyuushiro's gut. "You're strong enough," he said. Jyuushiro felt his emotions spike higher.

"You're strong enough, too," Jyuushiro said quietly and saw the bigger man's head bow in acknowledgement.

"Then let's go," Shunsui said softly.

Together, they went over to their sheathed zanpakutou. The two swords were still identical in appearance, slightly curved katana with simple black cording on bare tangs and unornamented hand guards. They were still asauchi, but there were already differences. Shunsui's had been given one that was a little longer than Jyuushiro's, to match his height and reach. Jyuushiro had rewrapped his hilt to match his slenderer hands, and to give him a better grip along the bottom of the hilt. Shunsui had rewrapped his hilt just behind the hand guard to give himself a more solid grip right there. Jyuushiro assumed it was because with the two-sword techniques, Shunsui needed more control and less swing.

They both picked up their swords. Shunsui hefted his quietly, and kept the shorter bamboo shinai in his left hand.

"Is that going to actually work against my blade?" Jyuushiro asked.

In answer, Shunsui flared his reiatsu and held out the shorter blade. Both of them ignored the startled cries from outside the dojo at the flare. "My guy says we'll try and reinforce it and it's really the strength of our souls that will cut or block, along with the soul particles in the thing itself."

Jyuushiro swung his blade, hard enough to cut bamboo. His sword clanged and then slid off the pale wood. He smiled, and flared as well.

_Yes_, the voice whispered in the back of his head. _That is the way of it. Your asauchi serve as a focus for we who are within you_.

There were more startled voices, "Someone's fighting with reiatsu?" "Feels like... Ukitake and Kyouraku..." "What the hell is going on?"

That last voice was Ryuu-sama.

"Better get started," Shunsui said grimly.

"Right."

Jyuushiro stepped in and swung for Shunsui's left shoulder. Jyuushiro's breath was faster, and the world was starting to slow down the way it only did when he was really focused.

Shunsui huffed out a breath, and his short shinai was up and in block position, but the bigger man was also moving with the block, getting his body out of the way. The angle he took the blow on the smaller blade made it slide off down his side.

Jyuushiro ran through on his strike on Shunsui's left side. He whirled to his own right to keep Shunsui in front of him, and then kept turning as Shunsui struck with both blades. The longer blade was on top, the shorter blade on the bottom.

They both came from Jyuushiro's right as he was turning, so he angled his blade to block both and pushed power into the block, fusing his will and desire with the circular motion of his turn. His body was completely behind his blade. There was a clash and then a screech of metal as the swords met.

Shunsui had the bottom third of his longer sword against the top third of Jyuushiro's blade, so Shunsui had leverage in this position. Jyuushiro gave up the position by moving down and to his right again. He deliberately swung out of the path of Shunsui's blades, sliding his steel away from the kiss of Shunsui's zanpakutou.

Shunsui followed up hard, swinging both blades parallel again, just enough apart that Jyuushiro had to pick a very specific angle for his block. The power behind the strike slid Jyuushiro back. They were both using their full will and strength. Frustrated, Jyuushiro pushed back the block again, but this time he kiaied and riposted as soon as he freed his blade. He swung hard for Shunsui's side.

"Hidari-do!" Jyuushiro cried. But Shunsui blocked, grunting, with the larger blade. Even as he slid back a few steps from the sheer power in Jyuushiro's blow, his smaller blade licked up, light shining on the bamboo. It sheared right into Jyuushiro's armor on his left side, and Jyuushiro cried out as something bit into his body, bitter and cold, even as he moved to his right, following through with his footwork.

"You... are you okay?" Shunsui asked, his reiatsu fading back as he realized what he'd done with the bamboo shinai.

"I feel stupid. That's all. Didn't... fucking think it could... cut, damnit," Jyuushiro panted. "Stupid, stupid... " He rushed Shunsui, whose reiatsu slammed back up. As Jyuushiro saw the long blade flick up to block what looked like an overhead blow on his part, Jyuushiro flicked his tip back and then down at a different angle at the left side of Shunsui's helmet, "Migi-men!"

The shorter blade came up, but not quite in time. With the power of Shunsui's reiatsu behind it, it did slow and deflect the angle of the strike; but Jyuushiro felt his blade, his will slice down through the steel of Shunsui's helmet and into Shunsui's shoulder armor, stopping there.

There was the ring of steel as the sliced-off portion of Shunsui's helmet hit the wooden floor.

They both stopped, panting. Jyuushiro pulled the blade from the armor covering Shunsui's shoulder. There was the faintest sheen of blood on the edge. Shunsui reached up to touch his ear, and he looked at his fingers. Jyuushiro saw no blood on either.

"Are you trying to kill each other?" The lazy drawl held curiosity, no menace. Both of them looked over to see Ryuu-sama, in front of nearly a dozen students, all open-mouthed. "Or just die on each others' swords?"

"Neither really, sir," Shunsui said, rolling his shoulders and wincing a little.

"Our... our zanpakutou wanted... thought... " Jyuushiro floundered in the face of that black-eyed calm. He heard a snort at the back of his head. _There is nothing wrong with what you're doing, youngster_.

"Well, I needed to test my technique and real strength against Jyuushiro's real strength. We weren't... weren't quite doing it with the practice equipment," Shunsui said.

"And yet you're using a bamboo shinai against steel," Ryuu-sama noted. "Fascinating."

"And armor," Jyuushiro added, ruefully poking at the slice in his torso armor. He could feel the cold sop of blood on his gi underneath, and he didn't really want to look, yet.

"Yes, when you start doing real zanjutsu, armor isn't of much use. Your resting reiatsu is your armor more than anything physical could be," Ryuu-sama said quietly. "I'm still trying to formulate a useful training regimen for full zanjutsu, beyond the techniques and practices of kendo. Straw bales, I can see, are just not going to be enough. The old-fashioned way of throwing a new fighter up against hollow incursions is too wasteful for me. I can only be there for so many students." He eyed the two young men.

Both of them looked right back at him.

He sighed and then nodded. "Well, if that's the way you're going to be about it, at least have someone from the Infirmary here in case you do slip, right? And maybe we'll add a live practice session to the classes to see if this will help anyone else develop their powers as well."

They both bowed to him. "Thank you, sir," they chorused.

Ryuu-sama shook his head. "Don't thank me. Just get stronger."

* * *

After checking in at the front desk, they'd been sent to one of the rooms together. They both sat side by side on the edge of the examination table, still sweating and panting from the last exchange. Ryuu-sama had sent them to get someone assigned to the afternoon class, and to have their wounds seen to before they went back to their classrooms.

Jyuushiro finally got tired of the small separation, and leaned quietly against Shunsui's uninjured shoulder. Shunsui's arm went around him. Jyuushiro still trembled with the aftereffects of adrenaline and the fight itself.

"Jyuushiro..." Shunsui said quietly, and then stopped.

Jyuushiro waited for a while and then asked, "What, Shunsui?"

"Why..." Shunsui closed his eyes.

"Why what?"

"Why do you like me, still? Even after... after the girls?" Shunsui asked quietly.

"Why am I not jealous?" Jyuushiro asked. "Is that your real question?"

Shunsui rolled his eyes. "No... yes... not... shit... I don't know. It's not like I want you to be jealous. But... I still... want you." The timbre of his voice dropped on the last two words, sending quiet shivers up Jyuushiro's spine.

"Yes. I think I want you even more, after doing what we just did," Jyuushiro admitted.

"What? Why?" Shunsui looked a little startled.

"You trusted my strength. You knew you could do what you needed to do and I'd be... if not uninjured, that I'd be all right in the end," Jyuushiro said, "I said I needed to know you. But I also guess I needed you to know me, too."

Shunsui simply sat for a while, and the two of them waited a little longer. Shunsui then stirred. "Well... if you still need to know me. Would you... for midwinter break, would you like to come to my family's house for part of it?"

Jyuushiro straightened up at the thought, then hesitated. "Uhm... which part?"

"Well, if you don't want to..."

Jyuushiro laughed and broke in, "No... no... I want to, a lot, but my birthday is over the break, and my family would be horrified if I wasn't home for my birthday."

"Your birthday?" Shunsui asked. "When is your birthday?"

"The 21st of December... right in the middle of the break. So if we went to your house first, and then went to my family's home, then they'd get to meet you, too." Jyuushiro smiled and kicked his feet a little. "I think they'll love you, and then you could be there for my birthday party, too. That's always fun."

Shunsui nodded at that. "We could do that. My family... " He shrugged. "You'll see. I don't anticipate quite as warm a welcome, but I think they'll like you. Everyone likes you."

Jyuushiro had to laugh at that.

There were steps coming to the doorway, and Jyuushiro came up off Shunsui's shoulder. Shunsui gave him a quick squeeze, and the door opened to reveal the long-haired girl with the sweet face. She was the same one that had brought the huge meal to Jyuushiro while he was still in the infirmary and hadn't believed he could eat it all.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," she said quietly, bowing.

"Ohayou," the two men chorused.

Shunsui said quietly, "I'm Kyouraku Shunsui."

Jyuushiro added as formally, remembering that he'd never exchanged names with the girl before, "Ukitake Jyuushiro, at your service."

She smiled at that. "Well, really, I'm the one that's going to be helping you, I believe." She considered both of them. "I am Unohana Retsu. Now what is this I heard about you two _practicing_ with live zanpakutou?"


	20. Cuts

_Thanks, folks, for 10,000 hits on Twin Souls. I really appreciate your reading and your time as well as the lovely reviews. Many thanks to Afreal, anihana, lara, Dragen Eyez, xxmoon.childxx, karishea, Sakiku, Kuronoko Tsubame, Shackleton, damn416, Rhiannon125, and Daughter of Chaos for encouraging me as I've been going. It's been quite the ride._

_Thanks for being patient with me on this one, there's a lot to it._

_**Kudos**: Thanks for incandescens's beta. Inspiration for how some of these plot points were provided by incandescens and r0ck3tsci3ntist. lj user"starkblack" did a very important job of reality checking some of this. Thank you, so much._

* * *

Shunsui thought about the feeling of Jyuushiro's hair, daydreamed about the scent of the skin of the girl he'd been with the previous night, and idly tried to fit the feeling he got from watching Unohana's hair swing into a poem with seven lines, five characters per line. _Midnight silk flows bright/Unfurling ink/Meaning on void..._

That he was in the middle of Yamamoto's Tactics and Strategy class didn't deter him quite as much as it probably should have.

But the banging on the door did catch his attention, and when five men came through that all seemed to share various features between them, an inner alarm went wild. It was the one that always rang at the sudden entrance of fathers, brothers, and big uncles of women he'd fallen in love with. Usually men who were less than pleased when Shunsui fell out of love with their siblings, daughters, or nieces.

Shunsui dove under his desk. Jyuushiro startled at the motion, but a quick flick of his eyes at Shunsui and he settled back down at his desk without a word.

That was when, of course, Kenshin started laughing. A big belly laugh, that made Yamamoto look up from the notes he'd been reading from out loud and frown. Kenshin winced in the force of that regard. The frown made its way to the five men at the doorway, along with the hard press of his reiatsu.

"Why are you interrupting my class?" Yamamoto asked, using a just-barely civil form of address, his reiatsu rising as he focused on the cause of the interruption. Shunsui had to concentrate in order to breathe, and he could feel all his classmates having to push back as well.

The smallest of the five men at the door opened his mouth. One of his brothers grabbed him from behind, and clapped a hand over his mouth. A third bowed a deep bow of apology from noble to noble, and all five of them left far more quietly than they'd come.

Shunsui pushed, as he had when he'd been flank for the winter exercise, trying to spread his sense of reiatsu to gauge the five men's strengths; but the heavy blanket of Yamamoto's power made it impossible.

Yamamoto frowned even more deeply. He scanned the desks. "Kyouraku-kun, where are you?"

Shunsui waved his hand and came up from under his desk. "Sorry sir. I just dropped... uhm... dropped my brush."

"Kyouraku-kun, your brush is on your desk," Yamamoto said gravely.

The idiot Kenshin just had to burst out laughing again. Shunsui cursed under his breath. At least the laughter caused Yamamoto to ease up on everyone. When he glanced at Jyuushiro, he wasn't quite sure if he was disappointed or relieved that he wasn't looking back at Shunsui. He was looking at Kali. Shunsui followed Jyuushiro's gaze with his other senses, and it was like getting punched in the gut.

Kali radiated... terror. She was as still as a statue, hardly breathing, and so frightened it hurt to sense.

Kaoru touched her lightly on her shoulder. She jumped as if stabbed. Kaoru froze as still as a statue, and his reiatsu went ice cold. Solid.

Shunsui hadn't thought Yamamoto could frown anymore, but his wrinkles grew even deeper. "Ito-kun and Kuchiki-kun, what is going on?"

Shunsui's eyes widened. He remembered the facial and build similarities. "They're _your _brothers," he said.

Kali's eyes got even bigger; for a moment she looked like she was going to bolt. Then something snapped, and the terror receded. She bowed her head, "They are."

Kenshin looked from Kali to Shunsui. "Oh! Then they aren't after you, Kyouraku. Damn. And here I was hoping you'd let me help out when they jumped you after class. I've been aching for a good old fist fight for a long time."

Kaoru said quietly, "I do not believe they would offer a fist fight..." He hesitated.

Kenshin blinked a few times, and then his forehead cleared. "Oh! Yeah! Hey, if they come after you, I'd be happy to..."

"They're going to offer duel," Kali said crisply, laying the words out like bared steel.

"Why the hell would they do that? It's not like you two are scr..." Kenshin clapped his hand to his mouth at the look he got from both Kaoru and Kali, and even Shunsui could feel the flood of killing intent that suddenly hit Kenshin from both directions.

There was a cough from the instructor's podium. Yamamoto eyed his students. "So. It finally catches up to us."

"Us?" Kali's voice shook.

Yamamoto sighed and nodded. "Daisuke-san?"

Daisuke-san looked up from where he stood. "Yes, sir?"

"I believe we have found the leaders for the two groups that will be going with the Kuchiki and Shihouin patrols at the beginning of next week," Yamamoto said quietly.

"Ah." Daisuke-san straightened and sighed. "Kuchiki-kun and Ito-kun, please come forward."

They looked away from each other as they rose and walked to the front of the classroom. Kaoru went to Daisuke-san's left, Kali to his right. Shunsui nearly shuddered at the cold reiatsu that rolled off Kaoru, and even this close, Shunsui couldn't tell if the bitterness was aimed at Kali or at Kaoru himself; it was so dense, so solid.

"Shiba-kun, please give me a report on what you believed the relationship between these two was before we were so rudely interrupted," Yamamoto commanded quietly.

"Uhm. Uh. Hey..." Kenshin stuttered to a halt as Kali's poison green gaze pinned him where he stood. Kaoru only looked at the floor.

"Please," said Yamamoto, and Kali's eyes fell as well.

Released, Kenshin sighed. "I thought... well, I thought they were just some stupid... well... childhood sweethearts. Didn't think they'd _done _anything yet. Didn't seem the type, ya know? Rich, royal, only a branch away from the Protector, worth a lotta money when the marriage contracts go through, didn't think they'd... well... you know."

Shunsui saw Kali's blush rising with each phrase.

"Shiba-kun, you have seen, spoken with, and interacted with these two nearly every day during school, yes?"

"Well, yes." Kenshin looked puzzled.

Yamamoto nodded, "Then I trust that their discretion has been thorough."

Both Kaoru and Kali looked at Yamamoto with surprise on their faces.

Shunsui saw Jyuushiro's eyebrows rise. Shunsui suddenly started thinking hard as well. If these two had been so discreet that Kenshin hadn't known… Well, okay, so even Shunsui hadn't actually known that the two had done any more than just moon over each other for the last several months, really. How in all the Seven Hells would the brothers have known enough, had proof enough to come and intend to offer duel?

Jyuushiro raised his hand. Yamamoto nodded at him.

"I'm... a little curious, sir, to know if Ito-kun knows if her brothers are going to be on one of the patrols?" Jyuushiro asked.

Kali gave a brief, hard nod.

"Then would it be all right if I volunteered to be on whichever group gets assigned to the Shihouin patrol? Or was there going to be some other selection criterion, sir?" Jyuushiro asked.

"Oy," said Kenshin in disgust. "Then if you and Kyouraku go you can convince 'em we're all gay, and then they won't think their sister is in any danger from Academy boys?"

Shunsui just couldn't help himself. This time he was the one that started laughing so hard even Yamamoto's polite coughs couldn't stop him.

Hayato's whack across the back of his head did get his attention.

"Why you, Ukitake-kun?" Hayato asked. "Couldn't any of us go to find out where they got their information from? If it wasn't even obvious to us here, who could have found out and gone to tell the people most likely to disrupt all the Clan relations?"

Jyuushiro spread his hands in a conciliatory manner.

Shunsui rubbed his head. "Hey, if it's going to disrupt things between Kuchiki and Shihouin, we could find out information in either camp as to who would be most angry about a reconciliation between the two."

The looks on the faces of both Kali and Kaoru at the exchange in front of them was priceless to Shunsui. Yes, he thought, it's not really about you, or not just about you.

Daisuke-san's cough brought everyone's attention to him. "You do know the other players, too, yes?"

It was Kaoru who sighed. "Probably Hatsuzora, sir, trying to disgrace or destroy the Academy as well. If I died or was displaced as the Kuchiki heir because of a scandal over a second cousin to the heir of Shihouin at the Academy, it would be reason enough for the high Families to keep their children out as well."

Shunsui saw the white hand guard tighten hard around a fist. Even as Kaoru's face was as placid and calm as deep water, his reiatsu was still ice cold. He glanced at Jyuushiro, who gave Shunsui a worried look in return.

"But... how could that be traced?" Hayato asked, a frown creasing his brow.

"Or even found?" Jyuushiro asked, puzzled.

"Ask the brothers who told them?" Kenshin said with a shrug. "How else?"

"But would they tell _us_?" Hayato asked Kenshin.

"Do they know we even exist as something other than just people that go to a class together?" Shunsui asked, thinking.

"Well, I didn't write about you guys at all when I wrote home. It was more about what was going on in the dorm. Uhm. So they might know about Kyouraku-kun's... reputation," said Kali, having the decency to blush a little.

"Ha. So much for gay," Shunsui said to Kenshin and was rewarded with a bark of laughter. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jyuushiro put his face in his hands. Shunsui could only hope that was laughter shaking his shoulders.

"To answer Ukitake-kun's question," Daisuke-san cut in, "the procedure is for the two group leaders to pick their groups. Members may petition one way or the other; however, the assignment hasn't been given to the leaders as of yet. So there is no way for you to know, much less choose, which assignment you will be given. You may only choose whom you wish to meet it with."

Kali and Kaoru's gazes finally met. Clearly they weren't going to be able to do this together. Kaoru gave Kali a small nod.

Kali nodded in return and then faced the rest of the class with her head up. "Hayato. Kenshin. I want you two with me. Kenshin's bluntness will probably make my brothers see sense, and Hayato will be able to see what's behind that. Shunsui would only muddy the waters with my brothers. And, Jyuushiro... I really want the best fighters with Kaoru... if he needs protecting... if my idiot brothers jump him before we go on patrol, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if he got hurt."

Shunsui, watching Kaoru, saw his white teeth bite right into his lower lip. A drop of bright red flowered and then disappeared.

That was when Shunsui realized Kali had just called everyone by their given names. Not their surnames. He was flattered to realize that it had felt right. They really were in this together.

"Kuchiki-kun, you are willing to take Ukitake-kun and Kyouraku-kun with you?"

Kaoru nodded and then drew a breath. "Yes, sir. I will take Shunsui and Jyuushiro as my team."

"Wait," Jyuushiro said quietly. "What if our assignments are reversed? What if Kaoru, Shunsui and I go with the Shihouin patrol?"

Shunsui tilted his head. "Well, separating both Kaoru and myself from Kali will keep the waters clear. They are probably well-behaved enough to not call out fellow patrol members right on the spot, though we'll have to look out before or after. I could play Kenshin's role in asking the brothers blunt questions, especially over a few friendly drinks, and Jyuushiro's good enough to play the weak lesser noble that doesn't like us, for the people that really hate us for our station."

Everyone stared at him and then looked at Jyuushiro, who smothered a cough that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Jyuushiro looked up with bright eyes, "Quite. Weak underling. Fragile and ill-used."

Kenshin frowned, "Well, if we go that way, there's going to be someone that hates us no matter what."

Shunsui grinned. "What better way to get them to show their colors than by rubbing us in their faces?"

"So what do we do if we're going on the Kuchiki patrol?" Hayato asked. "Just look for people who attack Kali?"

Kaoru's reiatsu flared with sudden, utter rage. Everyone winced, except for Yamamoto and Daisuke-san.

"Get a handle on that!" Daisuke-san barked.

Kaoru's fist clenched tight again, and his flaring reiatsu pulled in again, ragged at first, but then closed into that cold sheen of ice. "My Clan would not be so cowardly as to attack a woman who was in love with me," he said flatly. "They might deny my right to wed her, they might slander her, but they would never physically attack her."

Kali closed her eyes. "And slander is not an attack, my love?"

Kaoru slumped. His reiatsu blew out like a candle in the wind.

"Perhaps we should end this now," Kali said softly. "If there is no hope, if they do deny our right to wed, then why do we persist in this when it endangers our Families, endangers the Academy, and endangers our friends?"

Shunsui drew in a shaking breath. He wasn't sure if Kaoru's rage had really been at the slander to his clan, or at the idea of someone harming Kali. He'd always envied the two their constancy, the longevity of their desire for each other. All the time they spent together had always astonished him. To see that end this way... something twisted in Shunsui.

He hid his own desperation by laughing softly, and saying, "There's always hope, Kali. Even from the most unexpected places. Don't... please... don't just end it because of something we don't even know, yet."

"You'll have some time apart, now," Jyuushiro cut in. "Give yourselves that time and see how you feel afterward." He looked at Shunsui. "Sometimes that can make you understand what it is you really need from the one you're always with."

Kali looked at Kaoru, who simply looked back. "Can you say nothing?" she asked.

Kaoru's face was perfect, white porcelain. "I am not sure there is anything more to say. I love you; but, as you said, it is foolishness to throw away our honor, our responsibilities, our calling for an emotion."

"Idiot," Kenshin grunted.

Shunsui rolled his eyes. Hayato just slumped over his desk. Shunsui swore he heard a soft, muttered, "People..." from the hawk-faced man.

Jyuushiro shook his head a little and then shrugged at Kali, who sighed.

Daisuke-san looked around at all of them. "Well... what needs to be done with the Kuchiki patrol? You haven't quite settled that yet, I think."

"What do you think needs to be done, Daisuke-san?" asked Hayato.

Daisuke-san shifted and nodded at the question. "Both patrols are now acquainted with both the gillian and the smarter, smaller adjuchas. There are rumors of something even more powerful than them, but no one has encountered one to tell of what they are and how powerful they are. Both patrols are going to be swinging out into the Districts in the fifties this time through, so not quite as much wilderness, but a greater concentration of souls.

"Your job with either patrol will be to observe. Just observe how the patrols deal with these creatures when they run across them. If there are obvious methods that the patrols lack that you now have due to your training, please help them out. If there are methods that they use that you have not learned of, please request knowledge of their usage. If they refuse, do not pester them, but do write down the effects and bring them home. Is that clear?" Daisuke-san looked around the room.

Shunsui nodded when Daisuke-san's glance reached him, as did everyone else.

Yamamoto's cough got everyone's attention. "And if you happen across those who do not wish you there, Ito-kun, please do remember their names. If Ryuu-kun and Shiba-kun encounter those who incite such unpleasantness, it should be noted. Ryuu-kun will have the advantage of nobility and the Ryuu reputation of... practicality. Shiba-kun will have his clan's integrity and peaceful attitude for those that do not wish confrontation."

Yamamoto paused. "I believe you have just determined your assignments, children."

There were sighs all around the room, but no one was quite rude enough to groan.

"Sir? Sirs? How do we get Kaoru out of the building without the brothers offering duel?" Hayato asked with a wave of his hand.

Daisuke-san gave Shunsui a look. Shunsui looked right back and then sighed when the old man didn't back down. "There's access to the roof through an opening in the closet used to store extra desks, chairs, and equipment. The roof connects to the roof of the library, and it's just a short drop to the ground on the far side of that building."

"When have you had to escape without being seen from the lecture hall?" Jyuushiro asked.

"Uhm..." Shunsui said. "I'd... uhm... I'd rather not have to say."

* * *

Shunsui never did have to say. The other students diverted the brothers that were staked out around the building. Jyuushiro and Shunsui got Kaoru out along the roofline.

When they were on the crown of the roof, Jyuushiro heard Shunsui mutter, "Damn, I'm glad we don't have Kenshin with us."

Kaoru actually smiled at that, a brief, hard-pressed smile, but it was a smile and Jyuushiro relaxed just a fraction.

Jyuushiro took a few shunpo steps to Kaoru's room. It was clear; he signaled to the two other men, and they joined him. Then they all just stood there for an awkward moment.

"Did you have dinner plans?" Jyuushiro asked Kaoru.

"I was just going to eat in the cafeteria with everyone else," Kaoru answered. It was in his flat voice, the one that allowed no grip on either his emotions or what he might be thinking. "You two should go back to your rooms," he added. "I am safe enough here with my dorm mates about me. They will protect me from attack."

"Maybe... we'll just eat with you?" Jyuushiro asked.

"No need. I need time alone," Kaoru said. He gave just the faintest of sighs as he looked at both of them, and Jyuushiro felt the slightest crack in the ice-hard reiatsu. "If you two are that concerned, get me my meal and I will eat in my room instead of in the public area. Will that ease your worry?"

"Let me," Shunsui said quietly.

Jyuushiro nodded, so Shunsui left. Jyuushiro thought about a few more questions, and just decided to not say anything at all. Kaoru simply stood there as still as stone, and they waited in silence. Shunsui returned so quickly he must have used his shunpo to get the food.

Kaoru accepted the tray and then remained standing, saying nothing. They had little choice but to leave.

He saw them out. At the very last instant, Shunsui said, "Take care. We'll be by in the morning to get you to class, right?"

"Ah. Right." That was all Kaoru said. "You should go. I am fine."

They both made their bows and left.

Jyuushiro was frowning, though, as they made their way back to their dorm and their cafeteria. He piled his tray high, as usual, and they made their way to a table together.

"Do you think..." Jyuushiro started.

"... that he's taking this way too calmly?" Shunsui finished. "Yes. He should be running around getting drunk or playing cards or picking a fight with someone. Even if it's with the brothers five. Not... so composed. Do you think Kali..."

"... is doing that? We could go check on her after dinner, too, but..."

"... she might kill us for leaving Kaoru, hm?"

Jyuushiro laughed. "Yes. Maybe we should check on him after homework."

"Just in case." Shunsui nodded and ate as Jyuushiro downed his meal.

They went to their room, and found that it was already occupied by half a dozen other students, just settling on the floor and starting the day's assignments. They joined them, and within an hour or two, they were all concentrating on their work.

Then steps came thundering down the hallway.

Right to their room.

Jyuushiro started as Shunsui leaned over to whisper, "It's Sato-kun, the medic." Jyuushiro blinked, Shunsui's ability to sense other people's reiatsu had grown since the winter exercise, but Jyuushiro hadn't known Shunsui could now identify close-by people by their regular levels of reiatsu.

The door slid open without even a knock and, indeed, it was Sato Saburou, one of the medics that was also a classmate. "Kyouraku-kun! Kuchiki-kun is... something weird is happening in his room and he won't let us in to see! We know you're... Oh! Hi, uhm... everyone. You're at his level of reiatsu and in that crazy class of yours together, so maybe you can talk him into letting me in?"

"Why can't you get in?" Shunsui asked, puzzled.

"There's some kind of locking kido or something on his door. I can't get through it or break it. But you're powerful enough... and... " Sato frowned now. "There's... I felt something in his reiatsu that bothered the heck out of me. I'm not sure, but I would feel much better if you came and helped me get in?"

"Something wrong, hm," Jyuushiro said and washed off his brush. "We're coming."

They all went. Nobody who was there for homework could resist the lure of a mystery like that.

They banged on the door and got no answer. They tried to just open it, and it wouldn't budge. Sato and Shunsui lent their full physical strength against the simple wooden frame and paper door and it didn't move. Jyuushiro studied the doorway as eight other students, women and men, milled out in the hallway. He knelt before the door and breathed deeply, and eyed the kido structure that had been overlaid on the door.

Locking mechanism. Bakudou number... hm... maybe... these binding kido were tricky to snap. They could all be broken by an overwhelming application of power, but it took a lot of power.

"Shunsui, do you have that small shinai on you?" Jyuushiro asked. "I'm not sure I want to risk our zanpakutou on this experiment, but... could we just push power into it and cut through the lock?"

"We? What do you mean we? I can do it," Shunsui said and flared his reiatsu.

There was an answering flare on the other side of the door. It was a flare that tasted of the cooling darkness of fall, the flame of the leaves of Kouyou, and the first frost of autumn, cold and sere and filled with the promise of death. Both Jyuushiro and Shunsui looked at each other. This was a real flare, not that ice-hard shell they'd both felt earlier in the classroom.

The kido shattered. The door slid open. "What are you doing?" Kaoru said, as calmly as a still pond, but the weight, the power of Kaoru's reiatsu all around them, made everyone but Jyuushiro and Shunsui edge away gasping. "Can a man not have a little privacy?"

Jyuushiro caught the flick of Shunsui's hand pointing at the palm of his other hand. He suddenly remembered Shunsui's stories of what had happened on the mountain, and he looked at what he could see of Kaoru's hands. They were in those pristinely white hand guards. But then he spotted a shadow. He frowned.

Shunsui moved towards the door, moving like a man wading through mud. Jyuushiro found it no easier. On seeing the two of them moving, everyone else started to follow.

"Kaoru, we're concerned about you. We're coming in." Jyuushiro said matter-of-factly.

"No." Kaoru's voice was flat again. "Not all of you."

"Then how about Sato-kun, Shunsui and I?" Jyuushiro asked.

"No." Kaoru closed his eyes. "I am not going to be rid of you, am I?"

"No." Both Jyuushiro and Shunsui said that as if with one voice. They looked at each other and then nodded.

"Besides," Shunsui added mildly, "you're our group leader now, and Kali would kill us if you got hurt."

"I do not..." Kaoru shook his head and they could hear him take a deep breath. "Shunsui, you need to stay outside, guard the door from everyone else. I will only be judged by Jyuushiro. He is... hard enough."

"But if you need healing?" Jyuushiro asked, doing his best to sound implacable; but he was confused by Kaoru's words. Hard enough?

"I do not need healing," Kaoru said. "On my word as a Kuchiki. I have no wound that must be seen to by a medic."

Jyuushiro took another breath. Shunsui gave him the nod. "We need to know," Shunsui said very softly, only for Jyuushiro to hear, and Jyuushiro nodded in acknowledgment.

Curious, cautious, and finally flaring his own reiatsu when Kaoru didn't back down on the amount of reiatsu he was pouring out, Jyuushiro walked through the door. A presence flashed through the back of his head, a thrashing feeling of general agitation at going into an enclosed space with someone that was threatening him. He put one hand on his zanpakutou. When he did that the movement in the back of his head calmed, stilled.

Kaoru was standing by the paper panels that let in the daylight. He bent his head and took off the hand guards. Something started to drip from his hands.

Jyuushiro walked quietly over to join him. Then his breath hissed out as he saw the ruin of Kaoru's hands.

"Kaoru..." Jyuushiro whispered as his own hand left his hilt. "What have you done to yourself?"

Kaoru never focused on his hands. Instead he looked calmly at Jyuushiro. He kept his voice quiet and low, so that the thin paper walls might still hold his secrets. "Nothing. I have cut no tendons, touched no veins, it is just skin and a little muscle. They will heal."

"How... how do you know that?" Jyuushiro asked.

Kaoru looked faintly surprised. "How do I know? I have done this before and retained my grip, strength, and capabilities in my hands."

Jyuushiro winced simply at the thought of doing kendo with hands like... even with the hand guards it could not be...

Jyuushiro stepped forward and took those dripping hands in his own. Kaoru started back at the touch, but then stilled. His reiatsu suddenly dropped, and Jyuushiro brought his down as well. They both looked at the slashes in the palms of Kaoru's hands. Jyuushiro got the sense that Kaoru was actually looking at his own wounds for the very first time.

"It hurts," Kaoru observed.

Jyuushiro took a deep breath and stopped himself from yelling. There was something about that tone of voice that reminded him of his little brother Haru when he'd gotten in trouble deliberately for some half-assed reason. Yelling never got him to open up about what it was that was really bothering him, and yelling would only serve to broadcast what Kaoru wanted to keep secret. He got control of his voice and said, "Of course it hurts. Are you sure I shouldn't get Sato..."

The cold wind of that fall reiatsu flared again. "No one else sees this."

Jyuushiro flinched at the power pressing against him. "Kaoru, stop that."

Jyuushiro felt Kaoru shiver through his grip on those long, bleeding hands.

Kaoru's reiatsu dropped again and he pulled his hands out of Jyuushiro's grip. "It feels better than... " His eyes closed. "I cannot... "

Jyuushiro took another breath. Then he asked, "What can you do?"

"Nothing," Kaoru said softly.

"You can at least let me close these wounds," Jyuushiro said. "A healing kido?"

"No. Stitch them closed if you must, but I..." Those already-thin lips thinned a little more. "I need the pain. And that is my mistake. My sin. A Kuchiki should not need such pain to deal with... that. I should just move on with my duties. But I could not do so."

Jyuushiro frowned. Horror at the open wounds warred with the trust he knew he should have and should hold for his teammate. He considered those words. "Sin, hm? So you're not relying on my judgment, but your own?"

Those hooded eyes opened and, maybe for the first time, Jyuushiro saw that those dark eyes were a silvered pewter, fringed in lashes so long they seemed nearly impossible. Jyuushiro remembered his drunken comment to Shunsui after that first tactics class, and now nearly cursed his wish to know what was under that calm, that perfection. Kaoru was not calm. Kaoru was now focused entirely, fiercely, intently on Jyuushiro.

Then slow words came. "Shunsui probably said I should lose myself in wine, women, or other trash instead."

Jyuushiro nodded.

Kaoru gave a small smile. "He feels everything, does he not? He will woo any woman to get that sensation of being held, of being loved. He is so careless of his reputation, his pride. But you..."

Jyuushiro let his eyes narrow, as Kaoru gave him an appraising look before saying, "I have seen how you hide your feelings. How you keep your pride even in front of him. How you turn away from getting too close, especially when we are all together. You never touch him when someone is looking. You know. You understand why I cannot loosen my grip." Those lacerated hands tightened into fists on themselves, but Jyuushiro was the one that gave a sound of protest as blood dripped from that cruel grip.

Jyuushiro's eyes widened in shock. What was Kaoru talking about? He'd never... and he took a slow breath at the memory of crying so hard and helplessly in Shunsui's arms that one night, and being ashamed enough of it later to make that distance between them. And he hadn't ever touched the bigger man when with the rest of the class, preferring discretion, modesty, propriety. He remembered the odd mixture of cynical amusement and embarrassment at Kenshin's comment in the class that very day. He had been what Kaoru described. He didn't like it, but some of it was true. "Not... everything. And I feel..." Now it was Jyuushiro's turn to hesitate at a soft hiss in the back of his head. "You're turning this conversation, aren't you? Making it about me."

"About why I believe you are capable of judging me." Kaoru shrugged. "Though my own Clan would probably disown me for saying that any minor noble could judge the heir of Kuchiki, I believe you to be appropriate. So, tell me, Jyuushiro, how bad is my crime, what should I do in reparation for being this stupid, this weak?"

The shock of hearing his given name from the beautiful noble made Jyuushiro hesitate. He ended up shaking his head as his thoughts came up with nothing, and that voice in the back of his head remained silent as well. Instead, he just shook his head, and said, "You've partially disabled yourself for any potential action on patrol."

Kaoru shook his head as well. "No. I will be entirely able to fight. The pain will not bother me in battle, especially if you stitch the bigger ones closed. Now who is turning this conversation?"

Jyuushiro had the grace to blush. "Give me... can we get those closed? I'll probably be able to think while I work."

Kaoru snorted. "All you have to do is tell me that I am weak, that I should get out of the Academy, out of Kali's life, out of... all this and go back to being what I was raised to be. You should not have to think."

Jyuushiro couldn't help but remember what Kaoru had said. "You said you've cut yourself before. Was that before Kali?"

Kaoru's eyes widened. "I... I do not know." He bowed his head. "She and I have known each other for so long, and I know I cut when we were smaller. She cried over my hands. I refused to let her see them after that. But after she declared her feelings for me, then I knew we were so close she would know if I cut myself. So I did not."

"So you can stop it for someone else," Jyuushiro said quietly.

Kaoru spread his hands, the cuts gaping in the skin. Jyuushiro winced at the gesture, but Kaoru ignored the expression and asked, "But what of this?"

Jyuushiro remembered the difference in reiatsu between the ice cold hardness in the classroom, and the full-out power of what had met him and Shunsui at the door. Quietly, he asked, "Has it made you more effective?"

Kaoru gave Jyuushiro an assessing look. "Yes."

Jyuushiro simply nodded. "If this is what you need to fight, I can accept it."

Kaoru went very still. "What do you see as my mistake, my failure, then?"

Jyuushiro sighed. "If we hadn't pushed, hadn't come, you'd have suffered all this by yourself due to your lack of respect, trust, and faith in your teammates, your classmates, and myself in particular. I don't think you can sew those up and be effective again on your own."

Kaoru nodded very slowly. Jyuushiro could see things shift behind the gray eyes, and suddenly Kaoru knelt before Jyuushiro. "What price need I pay for my transgression?"

Jyuushiro puffed a small breath out. "You're just going to have to suffer my ministrations in sewing together those cuts. You're going to have apologize for locking Sato-kun and Shunsui out, even if you don't say exactly what happened to them. And you'll promise me you'll talk to me when you feel the urge to do this again. You're going to have to suffer my thanking you for pointing out my own failures."

"I will so promise." Kaoru looked up, one eyebrow raised. "You took that as a failure?"

Jyuushiro had to laugh this time. "Yes. I do." He paused a moment. "My family taught me to do better than that."

"Allowing emotional reactions to override necessity is better?" Kaoru asked, obviously puzzled.

"No. Showing those that I love that I care about them is far more important than politeness, appropriate behavior, or even obedience," Jyuushiro said placidly. "Do you have needle and thread?"

"Yes." Kaoru got up without touching the ground, went over to a chest against the wall, and frowned a little at his hands. "I think you probably should open this, as I do not wish to stain everything within."

Jyuushiro went over, lifted the lid and followed Kaoru's instructions to find the small sewing kit with steel needle and silk thread. He found a wider strip of cloth, tore it in half, and put the two pieces into the cup with the needle and thread. He poured clean drinking water into the cup, and used a very carefully controlled fire kido to make the contents boil hard.

The kido provoked knocking on the door. "You okay in there?" Shunsui asked urgently.

Jyuushiro said, more loudly than anything they'd said to that point, "We're fine, Shunsui. I needed some... tea."

Shunsui's laughter caused Jyuushiro to chuckle, and something lightened in Kaoru's eyes.

Together they sat down at Kaoru's desk, and Jyuushiro cleaned up, stitched, and then bandaged Kaoru's hands with the clean lengths of cloth he'd boiled with the needle and thread. Jyuushiro did his best to work quickly and neatly and let Kaoru manage every involuntary flinch, hiss of breath, or tightening of muscle. There were very few of those, given how inexperienced Jyuushiro was at doing this.

After one particularly deep miss on Jyuushiro's part, Sato-kun called from the hallway, "You guys. Are you... what are you doing? It feels like..."

The two young men looked at each other.

Jyuushiro said softly, "Sato knew that you'd done something; he can sense pain better than most, I think."

"A good gift for a medic in the field, but it is troublesome in this case," Kaoru said as quietly back. Then he raised his voice. "We are satisfactory, Sato-kun, I simply spilled some tea on my hands. It is quite... hot."

The noise Sato made was not convinced, but he subsided.

Jyuushiro saw a smile tug at the corner of Kaoru's mouth. That made it easier to keep going.

Jyuushiro finished with a sigh, wrapping the cloth around his work with fingers that trembled now that he no longer needed them to be still.

One bandaged hand suddenly caught his.

He looked up from his handiwork and met Kaoru's gaze. Jyuushiro didn't hold back this time; he let all his aching concern, his worry, his horror at the wounds, and his frustration at not really getting to fix things come to the forefront of his mind. His reiatsu, through that touch between them, would probably show some of that; maybe his expression as well. He wasn't sure.

But Kaoru's breath caught on meeting Jyuushiro's eyes, and he said very quietly, "You, Jyuushiro, are quick to redress what you feel is a wrong."

Jyuushiro merely bowed his head.

"Thank you," Kaoru said. "Thank you very much."

"You are very welcome, Kaoru. And thank you for trusting me." He gently pressed the hand around his own, and along with it came the rest of Kaoru's tentative smile.

* * *

Shunsui started when Jyuushiro finally came out. Most of the rest of the students had dispersed, but Saburou was sitting seiza against the wall opposite the door, and looked up wearily.

"Hey, handsome," Shunsui said with an evil grin.

Jyuushiro rolled his eyes, making Shunsui grin just a bit more widely, but then Jyuushiro stepped in close to Shunsui and surprised him with a hug.

"How is he?" asked Saburou.

"He can tell you: he'll be out in a bit," Jyuushiro said, and leaned against Shunsui.

Shunsui wasn't at all sure what he was supposed to do, but then he felt Jyuushiro trembling, so he put his arm around the white-haired man and hugged him back.

Kaoru stepped out of the room as well and gave Saburou a stiff-backed but low bow. Then he turned to Shunsui and did the same. "I apologize for troubling you so much with my display of cowardice. Jyuushiro has been kind enough to bandage up my lightly burnt hands." He displayed his hands, which showed just the edges of the bandages around a fresh pair of hand guards.

Saburou frowned, rose to his feet, and approached Kaoru, "But you were hurt before we came, not just with the tea."

"Thank you for your concern, Sato-kun, but, as you can see, I am in good health otherwise," Kaoru said. He waited very quietly as Saburou studied him.

Shunsui's eyes narrowed. This wasn't right: it didn't quite fit what he'd seen, what he'd felt when they'd first gotten there. He bit his lower lip.

Kaoru gave him a look that didn't particularly reassure him, as it was a far more intense look than he'd gotten in some time. But then Kaoru said, "Thank you, Shunsui. Please look after Jyuushiro: I have given him a bigger burden, I think, than is absolutely fair."

Shunsui looked down at Jyuushiro, who looked up at him with a look that made him nearly weak in the knees. "Jyuushiro?"

Jyuushiro sighed and put his head on Shunsui's shoulder, "Can we go back to our room? I am tired. We'll be back in the morning, Kaoru?"

"Correct. This time I promise that there will be nothing from me to pull you away," Kaoru said quietly. "Rest well."

"I will," Jyuushiro said and coughed twice. He sighed and rummaged around in his sleeve, but didn't find a cloth before the next coughs caught up with him and shook him. Blood appeared between his fingers.

"Damnit," Shunsui said quietly. He slipped his own hand into Jyuushiro's sleeve, and found one of the cloths and gave it to the slender man, before just picking him up and settling Jyuushiro in his own lap as he sat on the floor. Shunsui was relieved when he felt Jyuushiro relax into his hold.

Saburou, looking concerned, crouched by the two of them and ran a ripple of reiatsu over Jyuushiro. "I don't think I can help that much with this, either."

"It's... it's okay..." Jyuushiro whispered and coughed again, but with less ferocity than before. Kaoru surprised the hell out of Shunsui by crouching down on their other side and gently touched Jyuushiro on the shoulder with one bandaged hand.

Jyuushiro looked surprised, too.

"I would not want one of my men to be disabled because of me," Kaoru said quietly. "I shall be more..."

Jyuushiro shook his head, and half-rasped, half-whispered, "No. Do not..."

Kaoru simply continued, "... more forthcoming next time, so you do not have to go to such lengths."

Jyuushiro's eyebrows went up and Shunsui was just dying to know why and what the hell the two men were talking about. Then Jyuushiro gave Kaoru a slow nod. "Good, then." And the white-haired man sighed and coughed again, but it slowed, and his breathing deepened and slowed, and eventually there were no more coughs. Just a bloody cloth.

"Just a small one," Jyuushiro sighed, and leaned against Shunsui. The other two men backed off.

"Can I just carry you back, Jyuushiro?" Shunsui asked.

Jyuushiro nodded against Shunsui's shoulder, and Shunsui took him at his word and just lifted him as he stood up. He gave a nod to both Saburou and Kaoru and then shunpo'ed away. His reiatsu powered his body the way it did during combat, and as it enabled blows harder and faster than any normal man's, it now made it possible for him to carry Jyuushiro as lightly as a bird or a flower.

Shunsui took him back to their room, which was now empty of people; but someone had left a note with the last of the homework, explaining how to solve the problem. Jyuushiro studied the note, and the two of them sat side by side at a single desk and got through it together. They took a quick tired wash and bath together, each scrubbing down the other's back, and if Jyuushiro rinsed and cleaned his teeth an extra time, Shunsui didn't begrudge it.

When they got back to the room, they both stripped down: Shunsui was again surprised as Jyuushiro made to get into his futon with him.

Shunsui just stopped getting into his own bed. "What's going on?"

Jyuushiro looked up at him with a tired, confused look. "I... hm..."

Shunsui sighed, then wrapped Jyuushiro in another hug. The feeling of the slender man's smooth skin over hard muscle drew a thrill out of him that he firmly tamped down. "You should sleep, you're exhausted."

Jyuushiro clung tight to the bigger man, and Shunsui stroked his hair. Jyuushiro sighed at that. "Shunsui, is there... are there ways to... enjoy each other's company that don't involve..."

Shunsui frowned, trying to decipher what Jyuushiro was trying to say. "You mean sex?"

"Kind of. I..." Jyuushiro closed his eyes as his hands and arms dropped again to Shunsui's waist. "I want... I want to not just sleep with you, but... to do something with you, but not... that, yet."

"Why?" Shunsui asked, bemused. "You're exhausted and we haven't even been sleeping together for a while."

"Because I... because I'm sorry for pushing you away. I needed some space after being so ill; but now, after seeing Kali and Kaoru being ripped apart, I don't want to make a mistake by ripping us apart before we've even really been together," Jyuushiro said. Shunsui could feel that hurt through Jyuushiro's sea-reiatsu, the ripples that echoed his own feelings in the classroom when he was watching everything unfold.

Shunsui stroked Jyuushiro's narrow back. "But you were coughing..."

Jyuushiro sagged against him. Then he whispered so quietly Shunsui had to hold him even closer to hear the words, "Please don't... don't reject me because of my illness again. Please don't."

Shunsui blinked. "Reject you again?"

Jyuushiro shook his head. "Those are the wrong words, perhaps. I... I'm not really that fragile. It was a small coughing fit this afternoon..."

"From being tired, right, and you're pretty tired, now," Shunsui said quietly.

"Please." Jyuushiro's tone was so helpless that Shunsui sighed in frustration.

Finally, Shunsui murmured, "Okay." He felt the slighter man take a deep, slow breath. "I need this, too, after class and this afternoon. I'm assuming you can't tell me what happened between you and Kaoru, or else you'd have told me already."

Jyuushiro nodded his head against Shunsui's shoulder. The silken slide of white hair against Shunsui's skin made him close his eyes again.

"I trust your judgment in that," Shunsui said.

Jyuushiro looked up at those words, green eyes wide. His reiatsu suddenly rose and wrapped around Shunsui, even as Jyuushiro's strong arms wrapped tight around Shunsui, slender hands caressing his shoulder blades.

Shunsui shuddered at what he could now feel was held deep within that power; an abiding regard of him, a trust of him that seemed criminal and idiotic to him, and all around it, an aching desire for him.

And that was when slender fingers slid into his hair and brought his head down.

The kiss was just a dry, slow meeting of the lips, but Jyuushiro's breathing picked up, and the hunger he managed to convey as his lips moved hard and insistent on Shunsui's made Shunsui sway before he could catch his balance again. "Shit, Jyuushiro, you've been celibate for a while, haven't you?"

"Since before the whipping," Jyuushiro murmured against Shunsui's lips. His eyes suddenly lit in humor. "So whatever we do it'll probably be quick."

Shunsui laughed, and deliberately mingled his reiatsu with Jyuushiro's. Both of them were practiced enough now at controlling their reiatsu that they kept it within their room; no use startling dorm-mates. He pushed his own desire for Jyuushiro, his trust in the slender man's strength, and that odd ache that happened in his chest when Jyuushiro had accepted his kiss that morning, all of it into his power. He heard the slender man gasp and almost moan. He had to taste that sound, and he gently bit-kissed Jyuushiro's lips before running just the tip of his tongue against the insides of those sweet lips, into the faintly salty mouth, and then deep, along the warm strength of the tongue that met his own. Then he ran his tongue lightly along the edges of Jyuushiro's teeth, before coming up for breath and another slow, sweet surface kiss.

It was Jyuushiro that broke the kiss. But they were both breathing hard. "What... what do we do now?" Jyuushiro asked.

Shunsui laughed and then pulled the quilt and sheets down on his futon. "Maybe get in?"

"What do you mean maybe?" Jyuushiro asked, head tilted a little. "I thought you'd done this before?"

"Well..." Shunsui shook his head. "Not this way... not... with all this..." He sighed quietly and felt an old pang that accompanied a flood of memories. "Artists and poets... most of my experience with other men was just... what my friends or my brother's friends..." His hands were suddenly fists and he wasn't quite sure why.

He'd wanted them, had been flattered by their regard, by their desire and intensity. He was bemused by being tongue-tied with Jyuushiro about something that he'd just thought of as a part of his growing up. But it suddenly struck him how different this felt in contrast to those quick hard wrestles with lust and the need for release: all the things that he'd always thought of as being with another man.

Jyuushiro's hands slid around Shunsui, running gentle touches up his belly and chest, and he pressed his body up against Shunsui from behind.

Shunsui nearly cried out at the feeling, something aching hard in his gut. He hugged Jyuushiro's arms and finally managed to whisper around a tight throat, "Maybe this is a first for both of us."

Jyuushiro sighed, and hugged Shunsui tight in acknowledgment. "Uhm... then..." He went over to his futon and got his covers and pillows as well, and made a mound at the head of Shunsui's futon. "If I'm propped up, it's easier for me to breathe, like when you held me that night."

Shunsui nodded, considered a moment, and then grabbed a few of Jyuushiro's coughing cloths as well. "These will come in handy later, too."

Jyuushiro blushed as he settled back against the mound, and Shunsui grinned; this he was more familiar with. He took his time studying the body before him -- that muscle over hard bone, the strength he'd felt strike through the steel of his own mask. He ran his hands over solidly muscled calves and thighs, sliding up Jyuushiro's legs to undo his loincloth and unveil the very real evidence of his desire. He looked up to meet matcha green eyes that were studying him just as closely. Calloused hands ran down his sides, and deftly untied Shunsui's loincloth as well.

He sighed at the release. Then he bent down again, and this time deliberately pressed his body all along the length of his friend's. Skin against skin, hard muscle against muscle, belly against sucked-in shivering belly, silk-sheathed hot hardness against hardness. Jyuushiro gasped and arched up against him, his head falling back with a gasp, hands falling away as he tried to support himself. Shunsui groaned softly at the reaction, and tasted the skin of Jyuushiro's throat as his own arms went around Jyuushiro, pulling him even closer.

They moved against each other, strength against strength, hardness against hardness. Their combined reiatsu twined about them both, touching on senses closer to Shunsui's heart than even the contact against his skin. Sweat made all their motions liquid, smooth and powerful. When Jyuushiro's breathing grew harsh and he was closing his mouth on cries that would go right through the paper walls, Shunsui helped by kissing him hard, and they suddenly both shuddered in release.

They hadn't practiced _that _with their reiatsu.

The yelps and cries all around them made Shunsui laugh shakily. "Well, so much for being... uhm... quiet."

Jyuushiro was still trying to get his breath back, but he chuckled as well. Shunsui found the cloths and with a few practiced swipes got both of them cleaned up. There was no pounding on the door, no running footsteps.

"Well... I guess they're polite enough to not press the issue," Jyuushiro murmured, as Shunsui settled himself against Jyuushiro's side and pillowed his head on a welcoming shoulder. Jyuushiro wrapped his arm around Shunsui and pulled him close. Shunsui pulled his covers over both of them.

"They know better than to press it with us," Shunsui said with a satisfaction that surprised him.

Jyuushiro laced his fingers with Shunsui's and said the word as if tasting it, "Us." He nodded and kissed Shunsui's hair. "Yes."

And the two of them fell asleep entwined together.

* * *

_Author's Notes_

_When I first wrote the lines on Kaoru's hands, it was Self-Injury Awareness Day, and I wanted to incorporate that somehow, though it was more subtle and took me a lot longer than I thought to get to the point. incandescens wrote a lovely Ukitake/Byakuya fic called Judgment that brings in some of the aspects called out here and some of the things she and I had discussed about them._


	21. Border Patrol

"I hate this," Shunsui stated.

Karou sighed. "Orders, Shunsui."

"I know what our orders are. Doesn't mean I have to like them, does it?" Shunsui said. His hands clenched in frustration, even as he saw Jyuushiro leaning downhill as well, knuckles as white as his hair on the hilt of his zanpakutou.

The three of them stood just below the snowy hilltop, so they weren't silhouetted at the top but were overlooking the battleground. The Shihouin patrol fought head-to-head with a horde of lesser Hollows, three of the giant gillian, and behind them a single powerful, squat, and still figure. Light glinted from the creature's eyes occasionally as it turned its head in their direction, so they knew that it was watching them.

"They are doing well," Kaoru said thoughtfully.

Shunsui growled.

Jyuushiro gave the two of them a glance, and returned watching the fray below them. Shunsui finally stopped his pacing and watched as well.

They'd been out with the group for just two days, each playing their parts as they'd been assigned. Kaoru earned the disdain of everyone by equally disdaining them. Shunsui found he couldn't actually drink at night because no one drank when out on duty, and the folks he'd found by the campfires had been so close-knit, it'd been hard to get into a conversation with anyone. It didn't seem that Jyuushiro had had much luck either: for all his seeming lack of status with Kaoru and Shunsui, he hadn't been able to attach himself to anyone either.

In fact, when Jyuushiro had had a minor coughing fit after working for a while at splitting wood for the campfire, there had been groups of folks that had turned away muttering. Afterwards, there were people who wouldn't even look Jyuushiro in the face. Shunsui had been livid. He'd started trying to talk with anyone. And no one would.

But one kinder man had said, "Wait until after our first fight together. Then we'll see."

On the third day the scouts had come back in a flurry of flash steps. Ito Masaru had called a battle council, which had included all the Academy students and Unohana Retsu as the hired medic from the Academy. Given the orders from the Academy, they were all told to stay out of the way. The kinder man had turned out to be Ito Eiji, the second oldest of Kali's brothers. He'd shrugged when they were ordered to their out-of-the-way position, and the rest of the Shihouin patrol joined battle.

The patrol spread itself across the terrain so that no single stomp or hit by the gillian could take everyone out. Shunpo flashed everywhere; the Shihouin didn't fight standing still. When one man took out five Hollows all within twenty feet of each other, Shunsui realized the other reason for spreading out: it gave everyone involved plenty of room to do what they needed to do.

Three black-clad members of the twenty-man patrol acted as bodyguards to Ito Masaru, the father of Kali and her brothers, but they clearly took their orders to include killing off all the threats around them. They joined the rest of the brown-and-purple-clad Shihouin in killing off the Hollows with deadly-fast dispatch.

A Hollow couldn't flash step. Shunsui remembered that from the textbooks.

One by one, there was a flash, the crack of a sword hitting the mask of another Hollow, and it would puff into dust. The gillian moved in and started swinging, but the Shihouin were smart enough to stagger and randomize which Hollow they hit, not do them in a row. When a set of claws connected unluckily hard with one of the brown-clad forms, and the body arced through the air, another form appeared in mid-air, landed hard and short of the original trajectory with the first in its arms, and then flashed away before the enormous hollow could hit them.

It looked like a simple mop-up exercise as the lesser Hollows were decimated by the flickering band.

Then the squat figure disappeared.

For one moment Shunsui wondered where it had gone. In the next moment, there was a scream, and blood splattered across the forest snow as the squat figure slashed through one of the ninja bodyguard.

"Oh, shit," Shunsui breathed. He saw Jyuushiro shift his balance towards an attack. Kaoru anchored all three of them with his solid stance on the snow.

"I guess Yamamoto-sama will have to change his text books," Kaoru murmured.

"What is that thing?" Shunsui asked.

"Maybe it's one of those smaller super-powered Hollows," Jyuushiro ventured. "Daisuke-san said we should look out for them. What was the name?"

"Adjucha," Kaoru said shortly. "It is probably an adjucha, the patrols have seen them before. We are to observe its abilities."

In a parody of what the Shihouin had done to the crowd of normal Hollows, the squat thing, now reeking of a hungry rage of reiatsu, flashed right next to each of the patrolmen and took them out. Every few seconds there was another horrible sound of claws shrieking against steel and rending flesh and bone.

"Okay, we've observed. Come on," Shunsui said. "We have to help."

"How?" Kaoru asked quietly. "What can we do that they are not already doing?"

"Hit it," Shunsui said wildly.

"How?" Kaoru asked again. "They have zanpakutou, too, and they do not lack reiatsu to back up their blocks and blows."

Another patrolman went down with a snap of steel and a choked off scream. Shunsui closed his eyes. "I'm going to hurt you if you come up with another reason not to help them out. Give me one way we can actually help, not why we can't."

It was Jyuushiro who said fiercely, "Kido. None of the Shihouin use kido. But I'm not sure how to solve the distance problem; we can't do it from here. Our range isn't _that_ good."

The Gillian took advantage of the dismay and terror that the adjucha was leaving in its wake. They started bellowing and swinging at anything they could see, landing far more blows on the distracted patrolmen now that their attention was on the terrifying adjucha.

"Then we will move in closer," Kaoru said quietly

"At last you're talking sense," Shunsui said.

Then one of the brothers-five reacted: Indra, it had to be Indra, Shunsui thought, as he saw the blaze of flames that swathed down the blade as the youngest, shortest-tempered, and fastest of the five brothers released shikai. He engaged one of the Gillian and sliced a burning gap into its bulk; for his troubles, it slapped him aside like an irritating puppy. He bounced back up and went back in screaming.

"Go for the Adjucha," Jyuushiro bit out. "The Gillian are only a menace if we're too still and too close, but halfway down this hill, we should be close enough to fire any time it stops."

"Right," the other two both said, and all three took a shunpo step halfway down the hill.

They spoke their chants in unison, and when the squat figure appeared next to a patrol member, all three of them unleashed fire kido at the shadow. It squalled and flinched when the fireballs hit, and the patrol member managed to take advantage of the distraction. She brought her sword edge right down on the white mask.

The blade stopped right on the surface of the mask, unable to cut it. From where they stood, they heard the thing cackle. It picked the patrolwoman up, and snapped her like a stick over its knee, then threw her to the side.

And Indra came down on it like a flaring comet.

The squat figure blocked Indra's strike with its claws. The beast hissed and spat. Indra's head jerked to the side. He swung his sword blindly, it dodged easily, and then it batted him away. He fell, grunting when he hit, tumbling. The snow in his path hissed into instant steam.

Two more shikai released. One tasted of fertile earth and golden rice in the sun. The other was wild and drunk, intoxicated with a burning faith that brimmed with laughter. Both bolted for the Adjucha, which flashed away, and both reiatsu sources blinked after it.

Shunsui felt something stir within him. _Who the fuck is that?_

_Which?_

_The drunk bastard. _

_Soma, I think. Kali's third brother. Rumors are he can really hold his liquor, too. _

_Oh, right, that one. You need to hear my name, brother. Maybe you should follow his lead and just get drunk enough to listen for once._

_Hey! I listen, you just don't say anything._

_That's what you think._

Think? Shunsui snorted as he let loose another fire kido, this time at one of the unoccupied Gillian.

Jyuushiro and Kaoru followed with their shots, and all the kido splashed against the huge, dark figure, leaving scorch marks and flickering burns. It screamed, a sound so huge that, Shunsui had to put his hands against his ears.

"Well, that hurt it," Jyuushiro said in satisfaction.

The Gillian stopped screaming and looked to see where its tormentors were. Then it lowered its head and charged towards them.

"Yup. It did," Shunsui said with a laugh as he drew his katana and wakazashi. He heard his zanpakutou singing something fierce and guttural in the back of his soul.

"Shunsui," Kaoru said, "go for the head after Jyuushiro takes it on its left side and I go for its right."

"Right," they both said. Suddenly Shunsui was bathed in fall-cold reiatsu on one side and ocean-deep reiatsu on the other, even as he unleashed that dark humor from within himself.

Kaoru and Jyuushiro flashed away. Shunsui let himself take three breaths, and then followed. With practice, he and Jyuushiro had learned quite a lot about asynchronous hits, and how hard it was to block a blow after just having had to block another with your only weapon. The gillian got its claws up to block Jyuushiro's blow, and then swiped at him with the same clawed hand. Blood flew in the air. With the gillian's complete attention on the white-haired student, Kaoru managed to get a good, solid hit at its right side. He didn't have the power of shikai, but Shunsui saw Kaoru's shining blade disappear into the dark mass of the monster.

It bellowed in pain and slapped Kaoru aside, forcing a pained grunt from him. That was when Shunsui jumped from above. He gathered all his intent and might and swung the heavier, longer katana to strike at the apex of the giant mask. He kept his wakazashi back and ready to see if anything opened up after the big strike.

Killing intent blasted him just as Jyuushiro screamed, "Behind you!!"

Shunsui whirled towards his left, the smaller blade in his left hand moving out first. His intent was in the tip of the wakazashi. That tip slammed into something moving so fast that it tore the smaller sword right out of his grip, even as something huge and heavy hit him so hard he blacked out for an instant.

He woke to a screaming so loud it felt like he'd been stabbed in his left ear.

Claws slammed into his shoulder, piercing muscle, cracking bone. This time it was Shunsui that screamed.

"Shunsui!!"

He heard his name shouted and felt the energies of his friends and a third that blazed like a falling star all converge on him at once. _Three_, he thought muzzily. _Who is helping?_ Then the ground hit him, a voice in the back of his head whispered _You should have listened,_ and he passed out.

* * *

Jyuushiro wiped the blood out of his eyes, ignored the gillian, and put all his killing intent, all his power behind his strike at the adjucha's back. He knew he should hit it while its talons were still stuck in Shunsui's shoulder. What was more, Shunsui had somehow managed to skewer the creature with his wakazashi.

He felt the edge of Ito Masaru's intent in a front strike and Kaoru coming back in from the creature's right. If they all struck straight...

The adjucha jumped toward Kaoru, who brought his blade down to block a vicious talon swipe at his belly Both Ito-sama and Jyuushiro changed their angles of attack. Jyuushiro dropped his tip to make sure there was no chance he might accidentally block Ito-sama's strike for the mask. He felt a sudden muscular ripple in the back of his head, shining with water, and at the height of that motion, he struck where a man would have had kidneys.

The tip slid into the bone-white surface of the adjucha slowly, so slowly, as if cutting into stone. The adjucha screamed. That was when Ito-sama struck. His golden blade sliced through the adjucha's mask like a knife through an eggshell. The sharpness of the crack when the mask broke caused Jyuushiro to flinch. Dust flew around them.

That was when the gillian they'd ignored sent its claws slashing through Jyuushiro's back and right side.

The wound didn't feel like anything at first. Jyuushiro brought his sword up and struck hard at the back of the gillian's knee. He cut through the tendons, and saw its leg buckle even as he felt Kaoru harry the huge thing from the other side. He saw Kaoru sent flying for his troubles.

Jyuushiro foundered under a wave of weakness and dizziness. Something was fundamentally wrong with his body. He fought off the feeling, but Ito-sama's sudden flood of reiatsu pushed him off his feet. He went down hard on his knees, even as Ito-sama moved in and sliced deeply into the gillian's mask.

Jyuushiro fought off the dizziness, lowering his head as the dust from the huge Hollow blew by in a cloud. That was when he realized the blood flooding from his right side was pooling by his right knee. He touched his side, and felt the sickening sensation of a wide flap of his own skin moving under his touch, and something moving inside him through the opening. He gagged at the wrongness of the feeling.

There was a huge crash, and Jyuushiro looked up. One of the other gillian had fallen. Indra's wild cry of delight rang out.

"Fool," Ito-sama growled. Sure enough, the last gillian and the remaining Hollows all moved toward Indra. His father disappeared in a flash of shunpo. But it was the reiatsu that tasted of ripe grain and fallow fields that got the last gillian. Another reiatsu made a golden drunken stagger through the remaining hollows until Ito-sama's golden edge swept through them like a scythe through rice.

Jyuushiro collapsed into seiza and held his side together with his right arm. The immediate danger to Shunsui, Kaoru, and himself was gone, and the worst of the threats had been killed.

Kaoru walked up with his left arm cradled in his right. His forearm was twisted at an odd angle and his face was white, lips thin; but his zanpakutou was correctly sheathed and belted on.

That was when the edges of the world went black. Jyuushiro looked at Kaoru as if through a tunnel. When Kaoru bent to ask him something, the tunnel closed in.

* * *

Jyuushiro dreamed of being in his home ocean, when the bitter fall winds had kicked up and the water felt warmer than the air. He floated in a warm, night sea, dark and weighty, that moved his body about like a cork, uncaring of his motions. The warm water lapped at his pain, sucking it away in vast ribbons of calm.

Then he heard someone yelling, "You get them out of that beast now, missy! They fucking saved me and held that damned squatty thing so Dad could kill it. They don't deserve to get eaten for that!"

Eaten?

A very calm female voice, muffled by whatever was holding him, spoke in gentle reply, and while there was some sort of argument, Jyuushiro couldn't hear any details.

Jyuushiro tried to open his eyes, but it was just as dark after as before, and what he'd dreamed of as being water felt far too thick and sticky. He tentatively touched his side. It didn't hurt: best of all, nothing moved that shouldn't have moved. In the dark, he reached out only to touch warm wet walls all around him. There was a sound like a whale singing in deep water, and suddenly there was sunlight.

He tumbled out, covered in a coat of slime, under the astonished eyes of several members of the border patrol. He felt for the hilt of his zanpaktou and found it at his obi, sheathed and safe. That was when he looked up and realized there was a giant manta ray-shaped creature crouched over him. Jyuushiro crab-crawled to the side, as his grip tightened on his zanpakutou's hilt. The little beady eye on that side followed his motion. He tried to keep his voice even when he asked, "I was in _that_?"

Kaoru walked over to him. The nobleman's left arm was held in a sling, and he eyed Jyuushiro curiously, "Yes. How was it?"

Jyuushiro had to think about it, but then answered honestly, "Uhm... warm, surprisingly safe and warm."

Unohana Retsu glanced at Jyuushiro and smiled. She turned back and gently said to the border patrol, "See? Now will you allow me to treat your wounded as well?"

"Treat 'em? Getting swallowed by that monster treats them?" Indra sounded incredulous. The smallest of the five brothers had patches of swollen red blistered skin around badly-irritated eyes, but he seemed none the worse for that.

"How are you doing, Jyuushiro?" Kaoru asked, going to one knee by Jyuushiro. His good hand stroked back the slash in the clothing along Jyuushiro's side. Indra unceremoniously came close and dropped to his knees to see as well.

Jyuushiro sat up without the dizziness he expected. He looked down with surprise at the skin Kaoru exposed. There was a thin white scar across his skin. There was none of that horrible, sick feeling of things moving that shouldn't. Gently he poked at himself, feeling the muscles and other things yielding correctly. "Good, I think. Can you tell me how bad it was?"

Kaoru frowned, then said, "Your intestines were hanging out. Your blood had spread further than you are tall. I was not entirely sure you were going to live."

Indra blinked and without even asking, reached out and touched the long white line that ran belly to backbone around Jyuushiro's side. "Holy fuck."

Jyuushiro nodded. He looked at Indra, and asked, "Is that woman with the broken back still alive?"

Indra simply disappeared in a pop of flash step. Several of the surviving border patrol members realized what was going on as well, and flashed away to bring their still-breathing companions.

The huge manta ray gave a slow moan, and out tumbled Shunsui. Jyuushiro caught the bigger man gently. Shunsui simply lay there, eyes closed, breathing steadily. His shoulder was completely bare from where his clothing had been ripped right off him, and a silver web of faint lines shone against his dark skin.

Jyuushiro straightened Shunsui out on the ground, reaching into his sleeve for a clean cloth only to find it as damp as the rest of him. He still used it to wipe the extra drool (or whatever the liquid was) from Shunsui's face, and then sat back to wait for Shunsui's awakening. Kaoru moved to stand by Unohana, away from her zanpakutou.

The Shihouin patrol members flashed back in with limp bodies in their arms. The huge ray nosed Unohana's shoulder, groaned a sound, and she nodded. "Please open up, Minazuki. I know there are quite a few here, but we'll do what we can to save these lives."

The big ray opened its mouth and gently received the limp forms. It moaned softly, and Unohana stroked its nose with a gentle hand. Sweat was starting to bead on her forehead.

"Can we help with our reiatsu?" Jyuushiro asked.

Unohana shook her head. "Sadly, I have no idea how to use the strength of others directly. I... no, we just need to be strong enough to save them."

Jyuushiro looked at Kaoru, at his splinted, probably broken forearm and the wound along his ribs that seeped red into the bandages. "You knew that?"

Kaoru simply nodded, then shrugged. "My wounds were not life threatening."

Jyuushiro nodded and then got to his feet, making the effort because he was curious. He slowly approached the giant ray, and watched its eyes swivel to follow him. Gently he rubbed it between its eyes the way he used to pet the more reasonably sized manta rays on the beaches at home. Its skin was oddly dry, but still silky smooth like the smaller rays. Like them this enormous one rubbed up against his touch: he smiled and stroked it, and it purred. "Is this your shikai, Unohana-san?"

She nodded with a slight blush. "Yes. I discovered it on my previous patrol, when I was first hired by the Hatsuzora patrol. You don't have to call me Unohana-san, Ukitake-kun, it seems too... formal."

"Well, how about Unohana-sempai, then?" Shunsui drawled from where he lay.

"You're awake!" Jyuushiro exclaimed, feeling a weight slide off his shoulders, one he hadn't even known was there until Shunsui spoke. He saw Shunsui's fingers feel for the hilts of both of his swords, then go still again on finding them.

"Yup." Shunsui didn't move his body at all. He just watched the sky; his face was peaceful, quiet. Then his eyes flickered over to Jyuushiro. "Who saved our asses?"

Jyuushiro grinned, "Which time?"

"The time I went down. I don't know about the other one," Shunsui said. Then he added, "One or ones?"

"One, I think. Well, two if you count Unohana-sempai putting us back together." Jyuushiro bowed gently in Unohana's direction, and she blushed. "Beyond that, who saved whom is still up in the air; but when you were going down with the adjucha... tangled up with yourself... Well, if it felt like a comet out of the sky, it was Ito-sama."

"Right," Shunsui said. "That's the one I was wondering about."

Both of them paused as exactly that feeling walked up to them. Kaoru and Jyuushiro bowed the appropriate bow. Shunsui gave a little salute, and then grimaced as he tried to sit up.

"No, no, as you were. No need to get up on my account." Ito Masaru bowed stiffly back to the students. Then he turned to address Kaoru. "Kuchiki, much as I hate to admit it, you and your classmates have proven useful."

Kaoru bowed in acknowledgement. "We were foolish enough to be badly injured..."

Ito-sama's eyes narrowed. "We'll recompense you for the damage."

Kaoru shook his head. "I meant that as an apology, not a complaint. You struck all the telling blows, we simply provided distractions."

"My strikes would have failed without your distractions," Ito-sama growled quietly. "I've had enough of that Kuchiki nit-picking, brat. Take your compliment, like it or not. It's yours and earned."

Shunsui laughed at that. "With that, I think I must pay my respects, Ito-sama." He took Jyuushiro's hand. Jyuushiro felt him sway just a bit as he stood up, but his bow was steady and polite. Ito-sama laughed and returned it as well.

All of them turned to look as Unohana's beast moaned and spat out bodies that groaned, then moved, to the surprised cries of those around them. One of them was the woman they'd seen broken over the adjucha's knee: she sat up, unsteady but capable. Indra whooped.

"We owe that Academy healer for a lot beyond the price we paid." Ito-sama shook his head. "I'm still not sure 'bout my men getting swallowed by that thing, but it really seems to work."

Soma staggered up, and surprised Jyuushiro by throwing his arms over both Shunsui and Jyuushiro's shoulders. "You guys... wow. And even you, you sickly thing, you took one for the team, man! Botha you. I think we're acknowledging ya tonight. Yeah, Dad?"

Ito-sama looked pained. "Yes, Soma."

"Hey, Kuchiki!" Soma looked across at Kaoru from between the other two students. "You gonna marry Kali?"

Kaoru's eyes went very wide and then, without hesitating a beat, he said, "If she'll have me. Yes."

"Good!" Soma added cheerfully, "Now we won't have to kill you! That's even better."

Soma staggered off down the hill with four bemused looks following his back.

"That's going to cause trouble with your kin," Ito-sama remarked placidly.

Kaoru bent his head with a slight smile, and then imitated the Ito clan's drawl. "Yeah, so I reckon."

"Oh, Kazegami, if a Kuchiki starts soundin' like us, it'll be the end of the world." Ito-sama shook his head. "Come on, boys. We need to bury the dead still and take care of the wounded. You're here to experience border patrol life: the experience doesn't get much more real than that."

* * *

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_Author's Note_

_Bat rays feel really cool and at when they're fed, they actually do come to people for petting. Sea World in San Diego has a whole pool of rays that you can feed and pet. They feel really silky and wonderful._

_Thanks for your patience, the next chapter is already half done._


	22. Gravedigging

Shunsui cried. He knew he shouldn't be crying, because there was more to do. But he stood waist deep in the grave of someone whose name he didn't even know, and he cried.

As part of the aftermath, Jyuushiro had gone to check on Unohana again, and she'd asked all of them to start using the field healing kido they'd learned in the Academy. Even if they couldn't lend their strength to her directly, they might be able to help others. Jyuushiro and Shunsui had worked on Kaoru together first, as he couldn't apply reiatsu very well with a broken arm. They'd managed to get the bone patched up enough for him to help heal others, but had, in the process, exhausted Shunsui's small store kido.

Kaoru's arm was still too fragile for him to manage physical labor, and there was no way Shunsui was going to let Jyuushiro basically dig ditches when he could be healing people. He'd left them in the healers' tent with a long line of people with broken bones and open cuts. He followed Ito Rudra, the fourth son, and four other patrollers to go and bury the six people whom the adjucha had killed outright.

The job was simple enough. He had been handed a shovel and four stones to mark the corners, and told, "Dig until you can't see the surface of the ground when you stand upright."

Shunsui dug, using the shoulder he'd thought was beyond repair. For a long while he just reveled in the motion, the fluid strength of being able to push the wooden-bladed shovel into the rich earth with a foot, lift it with his arms and shoulders, and toss the dirt away. The physical labor itself occupied enough of his mind, at first, to shut out everything else.

Eventually his mind started to wander as his body worked. He replayed the confused shock of being hit and hitting the thing dead-on, and that feeling of possibly having fallen and died before he'd really gotten to do anything. He couldn't fault anything he'd done; but now he understood that there were things physically faster and stronger than him that were going to do their damnedest to kill him. That the Academy couldn't prepare him to do everything needed out in the rest of the world.

That was all right. Shunsui had known that for a while. Ever since his adventures in the bars of Rukongai, he'd known the world was wider and harsher than the Academy could ever entirely represent. He'd just have to get stronger and faster if he wanted to be even more effective against all the Hollows that wanted to kill every living soul. But...

Here he faltered. Jyuushiro had almost died. Shunsui had become entirely ineffective. If the Ito clan and Unohana hadn't been there, they'd have been dead meat. The Patrol had protected them as befitted students, but it was frustrating to come face-to-face with their own limitations, to see precisely what they lacked. They had impressive reiatsu for "not having shikai", but getting shikai, it seemed, wasn't just a matter of training. Especially if Unohana had got it in just one border patrol duty cycle. He wondered if she'd had to face one of the adjucha as well.

The adjucha's eyes haunted him as he dug even deeper. Its hunger was akin to that of the Hollows they'd faced up to this point, but it was intelligent in a way the others had not been. It had not stopped at eating to fill a void; it had destroyed the patrol member simply for the sake of the destruction itself. The killing intent had been human in origin. That bothered him. Real intent in a hollow, not just hunger, not just an unhealthy attachment to something or someone.

He dug and found half-frozen heavy clay mixed with sand under the dark top soil. It was harder going, and he heard soft grunts of effort on either side of him as the others hit the same layer.

It was odd not knowing people's names, to be unable to offer help or a word of encouragement. Cursing the hard ground felt utterly inappropriate for the final resting place of a human being. So he worked on in silence.

Figuring out the new technique for getting through the hardness occupied his mind again for a while. Pry here, push at a different angle, get leverage any way possible . . . and still there were those points where he just had to use brute force to push the edge of the shovel into the earth. Soon he was soaked in his own sweat. Remembering the lesson of layers of clothing from on the mountain, he shed two inner layers, but kept his coat. Then he felt someone's reiatsu flare. The others muttered in their holes, and two others, one right next to him, followed the lead of the first. He sighed, tired already: but, he thought, it might make it possible to get far enough down to decently cover the dead.

So Shunsui flared.

"What the _hell_?" came from the gravedigger who had flared on the one side of him. That man's flare went out, perhaps from the force of Shunsui's flare. There was just a gentle thud from the other side.

Oops.

Shunsui pulled in his flare, and levered himself out of his hole to find the man in the hole next to him passed out. Rudra had climbed out of his hole as well. He shook his head. "Help me get him out of there? Maybe you should work next to me, Kyouraku-kun, and we'll do the extra digging."

Both of them jumped in, Shunsui had to be careful in the narrow slot of a pit to not land on the sprawled man. Rudra managed to take the man under his armpits. Shunsui wasn't quite sure what to do.

"Try grabbing him under the knees?" Rudra said quietly. "His legs should bend so you can get a grip. Let's flash step to about six feet south and up out of the hole."

Shunsui nodded, and tried very hard to synchronise his motion with the older man's.

"Good," Rudra said. "Not that many people can go up and move a specific distance, especially not as young as you guys are. Let's put him here, not by the dead. That would make too rude an awakening."

They gently set the unconscious man under the shade of a tree not too far from the graves, but on the opposite side from the still bodies of the dead. The faces had been covered, the bodies composed as best they were able, especially the ones that were in multiple pieces. Rudra held out his dirt-crusted hand. "I'm Ito Rudra. Sorry to meet you under these circumstances."

Shunsui took the hand in his own, as work-marked as Rudra's. "I'm Kyouraku Shunsui. Equally sad to meet you this way."

Rudra chuckled. "Well, there's more pain to be had. You're pretty strong for not even having shikai yet."

Shunsui just ducked his head at that, not quite sure how to answer.

Rudra shrugged. "You guys did good. Can you finish Suzuki's digging?"

"Yeah," Shunsui said, and jumped into the grave. He flared and, with the flood of power, he dug through the clay nearly as quickly and easily as the top soil. It was too easy. It left him the room to think again, to think about just how far he'd come from the quiet, perfectly clean mansion on the hill with servants at his every beck and call, to be here, digging in the dirt and snow, shivering and sweating with effort.

Shunsui dug, and when he couldn't see the surface of the ground, he tried to climb out - with some difficulty, until he remembered to use a shunpo step. Then he simply found the next grave that was too shallow, and jumped in and started digging, oblivious to the stares from the rest of the grave digging troop, who were taking a water break.

He thought about the dead. The dead he'd seen today, the hollow dead who had been released, and the dead that left this world for what was called the living world.

This was Shunsui's living world. The only one he'd known. For all that he knew that all the souls would continue, that their existence on the passages between life to death and death to life was guaranteed, there was still loss. For each one had to go through that transition alone, never knowing if they'd see the others they'd known again, losing all their memories, knowledge, feelings, love, and power.

He'd never seen loss this close up, never seen Jyuushiro's blood fly like it had done on the claws of the Gillian, never actually seen living, breathing, eating, hating, loving people become ragged dolls of broken flesh. He'd never dug a grave for what was left after being broken.

And then it all caught up to him. This strange new world of his, the pain in it, the strangeness of it, of all these things he'd never touched before, never known. Battles to be fought for people he might well hate. Mourning people he'd never known. Death that had touched him so closely he'd felt the shock of it in his bones.

The quiet power at the back of Shunsui's soul growled quietly, and suddenly he was in the midst of a deep summer garden filled with blossoms. Two graves yawned at his feet, one fully dug, the other only halfway done, cut through the rich soil, roots matting all the first two feet of the topsoil.

A third grave crumbled just beyond them. It had been covered in earth but was half-collapsed, as if something or someone had escaped burial. The edges of the grave looked charred somehow, and oddly familiar to Shunsui. The crumbling half-grave lay right under a slender young sakura tree in bloom, utterly incongruous next to a garden of summer flowers. The air was warm, moist, hot, rich with the scent of flowers. It was a shocking contrast to the ice and cold he'd left.

A voice whispered against the nape of his neck, "So. You've finally come."

Shunsui shivered, "Where am I?"

"In my domain, your inner world, young one," rasped a voice now familiar to him.

Shunsui turned. A creature of bone and night, flower petals and wind stood before him, studying him as he studied it. "Who are you?"

It opened its mouth, and Shunsui strained to hear, but there was only silence. It shook its head impatiently, "You still can't hear."

"I'm trying," Shunsui said, with sudden sorrow weighing hard on his heart.

It nodded. 'Yeah, you are. Or you wouldn't have been able to come here. I guess these opened the way." It gestured at the graves. "Whom are you burying?"

"I don't know."

It threw its head back in that bone-rasping howl of laughter Shunsui had heard up on the cliff. "That would be fitting, young one. That would be fitting. That those whom you most care to protect are the ones you know the least about. Given those you know..." The zanpakutou spirit shook its head. "They're not the ones that need protecting, are they?"

Shunsui thought about Jyuushiro, his family, his friends, and slowly nodded. "Yeah."

"Well then." The spirit made a shooing gesture. "Go on. Get to it then."

Shunsui swallowed sudden tears. "You'll always be here?"

The figure cocked its head. "Yeah, brother. I've always been with you, I always will. You're not losing me." It cackled, "Even when you might want to."

"Which way is out?" The spirit pointed and Shunsui, not exactly knowing how or where it was he went, left...

... and ended up on his knees in the half-dug grave of someone he'd never known, crying his heart out.

* * *

"Uhm... uh... Ukitake-kun?"

Jyuushiro swiped at his sweating forehead with the heel of his hand, as he finished using his reiatsu to stimulate more healing in a slash that had cut right through the big muscle of a patrolman's upper arm. "What?"

"Your friend, the big guy with the brown hair. He's... uhm... "

The patrolman bowed stiffly in thanks. Jyuushiro bowed back and then looked over at the second hesitation. One of the bigger Ito brothers was standing in front of him, wringing a tenugui between dirt-crusted hands. "What is he doing?"

"Crying," the man said, frowning. "Not sure why. We broke for water and a rest, and he hopped out of his grave and went into the last one that needed finishing, and then we just heard him break down and... well... cry. Not unusual after a first battle, but.." The big hands wrung the rag until it squeaked in protest.

Jyuushiro sighed. "It's not his first battle, but I'm just about tapped out here. One more healing? And then..." Jyuushiro shook his head, "I'm sorry, you have the advantage of me. You are?"

"Rudra, Ito Rudra. And Kyouraku said you were Ukitake Jyuushiro. Are there really fourteen sons in your family?" Rudra asked, bemused.

Jyuushiro laughed. "No. My father has a strange sense of humor. I'm actually the first of his sons, but the fourteenth grandson for my grandfather. So..." He shrugged. "Thank you, Ito-san."

"No no... call me Rudra... -san if you must, but it makes it a lot less confusing. Might have been better if we were numbered."

"I imagine it might be traditional, but far more boring. Right, Rudra-san. Just this one, it should be quick," Jyuushiro said placidly.

The woman coming into the tent eyed Jyuushiro cautiously. But when she saw Rudra there, she relaxed minutely. She had small cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but held out her left hand with a bruised and swollen finger that looked as if it might be broken.

"What happened?" Jyuushiro asked.

"I was killing one of the small Hollows when another attacked. I swung around to deal with it, but didn't see Kanta comin' from that side. He slammed into me as he killed the Hollow and I felt something crunch... I think it's broken, sir."

Jyuushiro nodded, and sighed. "I only have enough energy left to help it heal a little faster, but we might want to bandage it to a neighboring finger, afterwards, to give it support for all your other duties."

She nodded, and held out her hand again for him to take.

Jyuushiro took the battered, bruised, and fight-calloused hand in his own. He closed his eyes and gathered up his reiatsu, just as he'd seen it gathered so often in the infirmary. Then he sent it into her hand, and heard her gasp. Her breathing quickened, and he could feel the flow of blood within her hand quickening as well.

A few minutes later, Jyuushiro was tapped out. He let his control relax and his reiatsu fade with a sigh.

"Oh my," said the woman. She flexed the finger, very gently. All the swelling had gone down, and she smiled in delight at the motion she now had.

"I managed to get the bone knitted back together, but it's still fragile," Jyuushiro said tiredly, fighting against putting his head down on the table and going to sleep right there.

"Thank you very much. It feels much better," she said.

"You're very welcome, but I'd feel better if we still put a supporting bandage on that." Jyuushiro rummaged around and found a thin strip of cloth. She gave him her hand and he wrapped the bandage around the injured finger and its longer neighbor, then fastened the end.

"Thank you." She gave him a bow that was angled to include the Rudra brother.

"You're very welcome," Jyuushiro said quietly. When she had exited the tent, he slumped in his seat.

"You gonna make it?" Rudra asked, sounding uncertain.

"Make what?" Jyuushiro was confused by the words and the tone.

"Uhm... make it to your friend? You look kinda worn out," Rudra said.

"Thank you for your concern." Jyuushiro smiled up at the bigger man. "I am rather tired, but I can certainly walk somewhere."

"You're not that sick then?" Rudra asked, "The guys that saw you coughing said you'd coughed up blood."

Jyuushiro stilled at the details. "I am... well, healed of the cause of my illness; but there was still damage done that cannot be... reversed."

"What?" Rudra asked, wrinkling his nose.

Jyuushiro's tired brain scrambled for a different explanation. "I'm not sick right now. I cough up blood because my lungs got hurt."

Rudra frowned. "No need for the kid-talk. I'm not stupid, I just... didn't understand how you could get cured and not be healed."

"Oh," Jyuushiro said, chagrined. "I'm sorry. Uhm... it just damaged a lot of my lungs, left scarring everywhere when the actual disease, the thing killing my lungs, was killed. So the damaged parts still slough off blood and tissue when I get tired or agitated."

"Mmm... thanks," Rudra said.

Jyuushiro washed his hands in the basin in the healing tent. The more extensively injured Kaoru had run out of steam earlier, and had had to be ordered to rest by Ito-sama. He was lying down, resting for the first time. While Jyuushiro should report to Kaoru that he was going elsewhere, there was no way he was going to bother him now. He put on the quilted coat he'd originally bought for the winter exercise, and pulled the hood up to cover his head. Then he nodded to Rudra to show him the way,

Rudra grinned, and they started walking.

The snow-covered, sparsely forested area they crossed was chill with the deep dark cold of mid-winter; the sky had already gone nearly dark with the early dying of the day, and torches flickered near black gashes in the earth. Faltering light gleamed on white cloths just covering the faces of the dead, at the bottom of each opening. All of them were filled with the dead, except for one.

It was filled with Shunsui, who was curled on himself. It seemed that he'd stopped crying, but it looked like no one had tried to approach him, as his reiatsu was unfurled in the cold air, like giant wings of despair. Jyuushiro hadn't felt his friend's power be this black, this alone, since the beating, and then it had not been this strong.

"Please stand back," Jyuushiro warned quietly.

Rudra looked surprised, then stepped back two paces.

Jyuushiro shrugged: he'd know soon enough. He tried to raise his reiatsu, but found himself so completely tapped out that there was nothing left to raise.

Rudra asked, "Are you trying to approach your friend?"

Jyuushiro nodded.

"Then why not just do it? He'll know it's you, won't he?"

Jyuushiro thought about it, and realized there was no reason why Shunsui's reiatsu should actively harm him. It would simply be hard to walk through if Shunsui chose to keep it up. He bowed his head to Rudra, and stepped forward into Shunsui's reiatsu. It was like walking into deep water, cold, icy, numbing him to his bones.

It didn't stop.

"Shunsui," Jyuushiro said. He had nothing left to pull on. His knees were starting to buckle, when suddenly the force of Shunsui's reiatsu dropped.

"Jyuushiro?" Shunsui asked, as if he'd suddenly woken up.

"Yes," he said, stepped forward, and stumbled. Rudra caught him before he pitched into the grave at his feet.

"Hey..." Shunsui hesitated and looked up at them from out of his hole. He wiped tears, sweat, and dirt from his eyes with his forearm. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to reach you, Shunsui," Jyuushiro said quietly.

Shunsui frowned for a moment and then quirked a smile up at Jyuushiro. Jyuushiro found himself relaxing.

"Can we help you out?" Rudra called down over Jyuushiro's shoulder. " We need to put the body in before it freezes to the ground in the dark."

Shunsui shook his head. "Stand back just a minute. I have to finish first."

Jyuushiro moved back as quickly as he could, which was not nearly as fast as he wanted to move. When Shunsui's reiatsu slammed up again, it was Rudra's hand on Jyuushiro's elbow that pulled him back out of range. This time Shunsui's reiatsu was just as dark, but the edge of despair had worn off it: honed down to something no less hard, but no longer turned inward. Rudra pulled Jyuushiro back a few more yards to stand clear of the dirt that flew from the grave.

"He's relentless," Rudra breathed. "He frightened the other men, which is why they sent me for you."

_Shunsui relentless?_ Jyuushiro thought, surprised. And then he remembered Shunsui on the hilltop, threatening Kaoru because this was happening. People had died during their wait, their inaction. Maybe even the one Shunsui was burying. Jyuushiro got a much better idea about why Shunsui was suddenly so driven.

Jyuushiro watched Shunsui dig. When the big man had reached the point that his head was beneath with the surface, he stopped. It didn't take very long. After a final shovelful and a sigh, Shunsui flash-stepped out of the hole, right to the lip of the grave. His body steamed in the cold air, sweat and heat pouring off him like mist off a mountain.

Jyuushiro shivered at the sight.

Shunsui walked towards them, dark eyes hooded. "Where's the body? And, Rudra-san, could you please tell me who it was?"

Rudra cocked his head a little and then nodded. They walked to the last of the crumpled forms. Only his face was covered with a ritual, white funeral cloth. The mangled body below had been rearranged by someone who had thoughtfully put the arms over the gaping chest, and straightened the legs before rigor mortis set in.

"This was Nakamura Shin, born to the clan one hundred years ago. He fathered five, fostered seven of us, and trained and worked with the Cloud patrol for the last thirty years. He loved a good rice stew, hated tiny dogs, took good care of his weapons, and was good and level-headed in a fight. He was one of our fighting healers, as their family is well-known for their healing abilities..."

Jyuushiro swallowed and interrupted. "He wasn't related to Nakamura Kiyoko, was he? She's one of the trainers at the Academy infirmary. She... we're good friends."

Rudra shrugged. "I don't know. Aki or Toro, his cousins might know. I knew he had family, but not all their names or occupations. I'm sorry."

Shunsui met Jyuushiro's gaze with a worried look of his own. It was going to be hard to carry back the news of a relative's death to the cheerful medic. Jyuushiro was glad when it was Shunsui that said, "We'll ask around, then. Thank you, Rudra-san."

Shunsui and Rudra bent to pick up the stiffened body. They set it on a sheet, which they used to lower it into the grave. Jyuushiro watched, and wondered how anyone could mistake a dead body for a sleeping one. Admittedly, this one was covered in wounds and blood, stiff and waxen, but it had no breath, had none of the warm flexibility of a sleeping person. The body was as far from a person as an empty-eyed doll.

It went into the grave.

Then all the remaining border patrol members appeared out of the darkness, in one whoosh of displaced air from all the shunpo or other means of arriving. There must have been some kind of signal or some kind of broadcast message, Jyuushiro thought, as all the dark bodies came together around the graves. Jyuushiro looked for Kaoru, and found both him and Unohana, both looking somewhat haggard, by one of the other men that had been helping in the healing tent. So they had brought along the outsiders.

Ito-sama stood a little uphill from the dark-clad gathering. "We are gathered to lay our dead to rest. Those who have honored our clan, our people by laying down their lives in defense of our ways, our people, and our lives. We thank them with our presence, as they move back to the warmth of the living world once again. Please join me in sending them on their way."

With that he came down to the graves, took a handful of the dirt so painfully removed from the cold hard earth, and cast it back into the hole, on top of the cold body lying there. Soon everyone came forward to follow his example.

Jyuushiro stood by Shunsui, and together they put their handfuls in. As soon as they let go of the dirt, their wrists were caught by Rudra, who had moved to stand between them.

"Father!" Rudra's voice rang across the gathering. "I wish to recognize two outsiders who have joined in this work, and defended us as well!"

"I want to recognize two, too!" Indra cried out from behind Kaoru and Unohana. Jyuushiro saw Kaoru wince at the shout.

"Who do you wish to acknowledge, son of tears?" Ito-sama asked, as if part of a recognized ritual. All faces turned towards Rudra, Jyuushiro, and Shunsui.

"I wish to acknowledge Kyouraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jyuushiro, Father," Rudra said firmly.

"And you, son of fire?" Ito-sama asked.

"I wanna acknowledge Unohana Retsu and Kuchiki Kaoru, Dad!" Indra yelled.

"Do we, of the wind clan of Shihouin, recognize these people for their efforts on our behalf?" Ito-sama asked.

"Aye!" The roar of affirmative sounded larger than it should have, coming from scarcely more than a dozen throats. Jyuushiro blushed at the force of it, as unexpected as it was.

And equally unexpected was the sudden flood of people greeting them, touching them, congratulating them, thanking them, and helping the two of them as first Shunsui and then Jyuushiro went back to the work of filling in the graves. Jyuushiro saw Shunsui's eyes grow bright as the Clan folks dropped their guardedness of the last few days, and took them into their circle.


	23. Offerings

The bath was wholly unexpected. The Shihouin patrol set up an iron caldron next to the fire, and everyone brought a bucket of cold water from the river to it before taking a bucket of warm water out. The gravediggers went last, and as payment for their work were able to put a single bucket in and take two out as part of emptying the vessel.

Jyuushiro waited until the last moment. He had already partially cleaned up in order to work in the infirmary tent, and he only really had his hands to wash, as most of the blood had come off of him while in the great manta ray. For some reason, the goo he'd been covered with when he came out had just been absorbed. His hair needed some attention, but that was all. So, just before the gravediggers, he put in his bucket of cold, drew out a bucket of hot and waited for Shunsui.

Shunsui plodded from the river to the cauldron with his two buckets. He looked more wrung out than Jyuushiro had ever remembered seeing him. The two of them walked together along the river bank to where everyone else had taken their baths. A tent had been erected with flaps to north and south, in order to cut the west wind, with a fire built near the rough shelter and a bench that was nothing more than a log rolled from nearby. The tent was for the women: the men simply washed outside, in the lee of the tent.

Rough wooden boxes stood by the bench, filled with lye soap that was slick and cool in the cold winter air. There were also scrub brushes with soft bristles that Jyuushiro tried against his skin and found to be pleasantly scratchy. Two other men were already there, and another approached bearing his buckets.

Shunsui stripped down, grabbed a brush, and walked into the river with a gasp. Jyuushiro knew he couldn't give his lungs that sort of shock, but he didn't have as much to scrub off, either. He watched Shunsui roughly scrub his head and dark hair, his hands and arms, and then his legs. He got the worst of the encrusted dirt off his body. When he came out, Jyuushiro had both of his hands already lathered up. Shunsui sat on the bench as close to the fire as he could get. Jyuushiro stroked soap onto Shunsui's short, curling dark hair, his strong shoulders, broad back, sides, and ass.

Jyuushiro heard Shunsui's teeth rattle even as Shunsui dipped hands into the soap and scrubbed down his flattened belly, his cold tightened sex, and his long legs.

The moment Jyuushiro was finished with Shunsui's back, he grabbed his bucket of hot water and a ladle. He poured over Shunsui's head to a long, slow sigh by the big man as the warmth ran all over him. Shunsui's hands went up to rub the soap from his hair, and Jyuushiro followed them with the stream of water, Shunsui's face and then throat, neck, and shoulders. Each careful ladleful rinsed a large area, and when Shunsui picked up a towel to dry off, they had only used a bucket and a half of their three.

Shunsui dressed.

Jyuushiro said, "My hair."

Shunsui dropped his sleeves and the top half of his kimono to help Jyuushiro wash out his hair. Jyuushiro bared the top half of his body as well, to keep the water off his clothing. The cold bit deep. Jyuushiro's eyes closed as strong hands worked water and soap in, and he used his own hands to rinse all the slickness out as the warm water poured over his head like a blessing.

There was a splash and a single cut-off curse word from another man. One of the grave-diggers had spilled one of his buckets. Wordlessly, the two of them went over and gave him the remainder of their hot water. He gave them a thankful bow and went back to his cleansing.

They left their empty buckets lined up by the tent, and went back to the main camp and the fires. The cook pots smelled wonderful, and people were beginning to line up with their rice bowls. They went to their tent, and found Kaoru napping in on his bedroll.

Jyuushiro dropped to one knee by the noble. Kaoru wordlessly opened his eyes.

"It's dinner time," Jyuushiro said quietly.

Kaoru nodded and quietly arose and joined the other two in searching through their gear for their bowls, cups, and chopsticks. Then all three headed to the fires. They were immediately surrounded by friendly patrol members.

Jyuushiro smiled as the big patrolman whose arm he'd healed came over to clap him on the back.

"Hey, student, thanks for the help earlier. Woulda taken me weeks to get this much use back on my own." The guy grabbed Jyuushiro by the waist and lifted.

"Oh!" Jyuushiro said, surprised. "You shouldn't put this much strain on it, sir. It's not that solid yet..."

"Nonsense," scoffed the big man, but he put Jyuushiro down gently enough as both Kaoru and Shunsui gave him their attention as well. "You do good work, little guy."

"Thank you," Jyuushiro said as he tugged his robes straight.

Shunsui chuckled, and then suddenly stilled.

Unohana-senpai came towards them, her slender hands folded about her bowl, her black hair in braids down her back.

Jyuushiro poked Shunsui in the ribs, and murmured, "What, you're not falling for her, are you?"

Shunsui blushed. Jyuushiro rolled his eyes, even as Kaoru snorted. Then Shunsui caroled, "Unohana-senpai, will you please grace us with your beautiful presence in this line?"

She looked up and smiled. Jyuushiro saw the smile hit Shunsui hard enough to make him rock. She walked toward them and looked uncertainly at the big patrolman behind them. "Won't this upset the people you're in front of?"

"No way, ma'am," said the big patrolman. "You saved so many of us, you could probably just go to the front of the line if you wanted." There were sounds of approval from all around them.

Unohana-senpai blushed. Jyuushiro peered curiously at Shunsui, and saw that he only had eyes for her.

"Well, it seems that you're entirely welcome, Unohana-senpai," Jyuushiro said comfortably, and made room between him and Shunsui. He saw Shunsui's eyes flick towards him in uncertainty and then towards Unohana-senpai. Jyuushiro grinned, amused at discomforting Shunsui. Shunsui looked startled, but then he nodded and made more room from his side.

She nodded graciously and stepped into line between them. "How are you both doing?" she asked.

"Quite well," Jyuushiro answered. "Your released zanpakutou is amazingly good at healing wounds I never even knew could be healed."

"I agree," Kaoru said from over Jyuushiro's shoulder. "I was certain my first command would all be sent home rolled in straw matting. I appreciate your gifts."

Unohana-senpai bowed to Kaoru, "I am glad I could be of assistance, Kuchiki-san."

They reached the head of the line. The cooks for the evening served rice, fish, boiled spinach, and fire-roasted kobocha through the simple expediency of dumping some of each into each solder's bowl.

Shunsui said, "It's quite a lot more variety than Daisuke-san had up in the mountains."

Kaoru nodded, and Unohana-senpai's stomach growled. She looked mortified, but Shunsui grinned. "Given how much work you did, no wonder you're hungry."

She nodded in acknowledgement. The four of them looked around for a place to sit. Ito Indra waved them over to a fire. There were tatami mats set out on the ground, and everyone settled on them with a sigh. Shunsui sat down with a groan between Unohana-senpai and Jyuushiro. Kaoru settled himself slowly on the other side of Jyuushiro.

"Sore?" Ito-sama asked.

All four Academy students nodded.

Indra laughed. "You're not the only ones!"

"Have you met everyone?" Ito-sama ignored his youngest with what looked like plenty of practice.

"I do not believe we have had the pleasure of exchanging names," Kaoru said quietly, bowing shallowly, one high clan heir to a lord. "I am Kuchiki Kaoru."

"Kyouraku Shunsui." Shunsui bowed nearly as slightly as Kaoru.

"Unohana Retsu," said Unohana-senpai, with the bow of a woman to men.

"Ukitake Jyuushiro." Jyuushiro bowed as well, low as appropriate for a lower family member to high clansmen.

Of the five sons, there was one with a medium build and white already in his hair. He bowed. "My name is Ito Daichi, and I am the eldest: more a farmer than a fighter, but I fight as needed."

A slender son, tall and quiet, bowed next. Jyuushiro recognized him as the one that had gagged Indra in Yamamoto's classroom. "Ito Eiji at your service. I'm glad you've fought with us now, and we know you better."

Soma laughed, and got up with a few bottles of something he probably shouldn't have had, and grinned as Shunsui's face lighted in recognition. "Tch. Formalities. Here, Kyouraku-kun, I think you'll like this." At an annoyed grunt from his father, Soma sighed. "Oh, all right. Ito Soma. Third Son. After granddad went on, Mom got a hankering for other names and other ways, so I'm the drunk one."

He nearly fell on top of Jyuushiro in order to sit by Shunsui, and Jyuushiro shook his head and laughed as he moved to the side.

Shunsui looked mournfully at his bowl full of food. "I guess we'll have to wait until after we eat..."

Soma laughed and produced two cups between his fingers as if by magic. "Oh, look what I found!"

"Can you teach me that?" Shunsui asked, fascinated, and settled at the laugh and the nod from Soma.

Rudra-san stood up next, solid, big, and darker than any of his other brothers. "I am the fourth son, Ito Rudra. At your service," he said with a generous bow, smooth and slow. Kaoru actually nodded back.

Up jumped the smallest, skinniest, and youngest of the brothers. "I'm Indra." He plopped back down again, jumped up and said, "I'm hungry, can we eat?"

Everyone chorused, "_Itadakimasu_!"

Then there was a very long moment of silence, with nothing but the sound and sighs of hungers being fed after the difficult work of the day.

It was very good.

Jyuushiro sighed as he finished his bowl, and looked mournfully at the bottom. Shunsui peered around Soma, and started to raise his own towards Jyuushiro, but Rudra chuckled and offered, "You can go back for seconds, Ukitake-kun, if you have need."

Jyuushiro blushed. "I..."

Kaoru interrupted, "Go. I do not wish for you to cough tonight. It will keep me awake."

Jyuushiro nodded at the kindness hidden in the abruptness of Kaoru's words, and left the warm circle for the coolness of the night. There was a rattle of rock and a stumble of footsteps and suddenly slender lithe Indra was by his side. "I'm gettin' more too, Shiro-san, can I come with you?"

Jyuushiro was taken aback by Indra's familiarity, but he seemed friendly. "Certainly."

They walked over to the cook fires in silence, and found the cooks eating as well.

"Help yerself," said the red-faced cook. "Don't want leftovers."

Jyuushiro held the hot lids, using folded cloths, while Indra scooped up rice and food into both their bowls.

"You burned a lot today?" asked Indra.

Jyuushiro simply nodded.

"I did, too."

"Indeed. You were very much a brilliant flame on the field today, Indra-san."

Indra laughed and laughed. "Dad calls me the gnat. I'm everywhere, annoying, and I can't seem to hit worth a darn compared my brothers. But they pay more attention to me just 'cause I'm obvious and there."

"It seems a useful tactic."

"You're the gnat of your group, aren't you?" Indra asked, all innocence. "You're obvious, with that white hair and illness. Everyone pays attention to you. Those other two seem to follow your lead."

Jyuushiro was taken aback. "I'm... I don't know. Wouldn't Kuchiki-san's..."

"Arrogance? Maybe he is the official and officious leader; but folks just get annoyed by him, and while he's got the title, he really follows you. And folks aren't made off-balance by him the way they are by you."

"Off-balance?" Jyuushiro asked.

"Yeah, everyone expects you to be the weakest, yet you're the one that burnt the most power on the field, you hit the fastest, and took the worst hit of anyone that lived."

Jyuushiro shook his head. "That was just faulty judgment..."

"No," Indra said quietly. "You decided the bunchy thing was more important than the Gillian. I saw. You decided that getting hit by big, tall, and clumsy would be all right if you could just get a good hit into the fast one. You were right, too. You're the main reason why Dad got it good, and why he was uninjured enough to help finish off the rest."

Jyuushiro walked on in silence, thinking through the reasons for his decisions, but his silence didn't seem to deter Indra.

"You know, the princess wants to give officer sponsorships to certain students at the Academy, she's just about got her Dad convinced, too." Indra laughed. "If I didn't know my zanpakutou's name already, I'd probably go, but I don't need any lessons on that. But you... you're just the kinda guy she'd want to encourage."

"I am?" Jyuushiro said, hiding his smile. So, Yoruichi-chan was likely to get her way. That was good to know.

Indra ran on, "Yeah. I'm pretty sure you could have one if you told them that you wanted one."

"What do I have to do for it?"

"I dunno. I think it'd give you an officer's spot in the Shihouin forces, as soon as you're outta the Academy. Maybe there would even some work and pay when you're off on breaks. You'll have to talk with Dad about that, I think... or... uhm... nah, the princess wouldn't know what to do. Maybe... eh, I'm bad with this business stuff, but I think you got it sewn up if you want it."

"Thank you, Indra," Jyuushiro said quietly. "I'll have to figure that out. The money would be very useful for my family in any case."

When they got back to the fire, Soma and Shunsui were swapping drinking stories.

"You've seen gold elephants? Well, I've seen blue cranes!"

"There are actual blue cranes, idiot."

"Oh? And here I thought it was a hallucination! Are there pigs that let people ride them? I saw those one night. A whole herd of them!" Shunsui sounded like a little kid, and Jyuushiro had to smile.

He and Indra sat down by Kaoru and started eating again as they listened to the banter.

"I've drunk three guys under the table and ended up in a rain barrel."

"Yeah? And I won a contest at the Blushing Bull against 20 other comers!"

"Well, I did mine one at a time..."

"That sounds like fun. You'll have to go there with me sometime, I bet we could drink everyone under the table."

"Yeah! I bet we could at that."

"The odds would be pretty good, when they don't know you that well."

"Do you get into the city that often?" Jyuushiro asked Indra quietly as the other two went on.

It was Rudra that answered the question. "No. We don't. Trying to find you," Rudra said, glancing at Kaoru, whose head lowered a little in acknowledgement, "was the first time we'd been in town for decades. We didn't like knowing little sister was there and unprotected. It'll be good if you offer marriage to her, Kuchiki-kun."

"Hey, yeah!" Soma boomed. "When are ya gonna make that official?"

Kaoru paused to think.

"Better sooner than later," Ito-sama said quietly. "Then you can pull her out of that damned foolish school. No place for a woman."

Jyuushiro stilled, and felt the sudden ice from Kaoru and Shunsui, and... he was startled to note that Unohana had that same sudden wariness that his teammates did.

"Why would you say that, Ito-sama?" Unohana-senpai asked, all sweetness and polite curiosity.

The five Ito boys and their sire all suddenly stilled as well.

"Well, it's different for a healer," Daichi offered. "You're there to learn a womanly art, to comfort the dying and heal the wounded. You did a wonderful job out there today, and if Kali showed any inclination to such a seemly practice, I don't think we'd have the objections we have today."

"So it is entirely womanly to run onto a battlefield and wrestle a broken, bleeding, screaming warrior from under the claws of an adjuncha, but not womanly to stick a zanpakutou into said adjuncha in order for it to never harm another mother's child again?" The lilting voice was such a brutal contrast to the contents of the words that Jyuushiro caught his breath.

Daichi's jaw dropped.

"Kuchiki-san, I beg of you, on the favor of the lives of your men." Unohana-senpai gracefully dropped to her knees before Kaoru. "If you give Ito-chan your promise, please allow her to finish at the Academy and find her place in the ranks of those who would protect all of Soul Society. It would be an injustice to her, if she were made to limit her strengths."

Now it was Kaoru's turn to look hunted, though, to his credit, he only clenched his jaw to what looked like a breaking point instead of dropping his mouth wide open. Jyuushiro had only the merest idea of what kind of pressure the Kuchiki clan would bring to bear on their heir at the idea of his wife-to-be putting her life on the line when her duty would be to bear the next heir, but the amount of pressure Kaoru was now exerting on his jaw indicated that it may well be a great deal indeed.

Jyuushiro put all his trust and faith in Kaoru into his reiatsu, and extended it gently, only to find that Shunsui had done the same, as they both brushed against their leader's presense.

Kaoru took a breath at their reiatsu's touch, and then said, clearly and concisely, "On the lives of my men, I do so promise."

Ito-sama took a slow breath. "Everyone witnesses the promise of the heir of Kuchiki?"

There were soft ayes from around the fire.

Ito-sama laughed softly and shook his head. "And they call us _Tenshi Heisouban*._ You children..."

It was Shunsui who barked a laugh in reply "No, not we poor students. Just Unohana-senpai. Now I know why I'm so in love with her."

Jyuushiro blinked at the blatant declaration on Shunsui's part, and saw Unohana-senpai blush.

"You backed her," Ito-sama said. The threat underlying his voice wound Jyuushiro's tension even tighter.

"As good nakama should." Shunsui was completely unrepentant.

Ito-sama threw his head back in laughter, and his sons and his retainers all relaxed. Jyuushiro let out a breath he hadn't quite known he was holding, and coughed softly. Shunsui flicked him a questioning look, and he simply shook his head. With the threat dying down, the agitation wouldn't affect his breathing further

"Then I must regretfully inform Kuchiki-kun that if he were to make a declaration of intent to marry my daughter, it would be refused on account of their youth. But we note that he has declared his honorable intent to do so."

Jyuushiro frowned, still puzzled by one aspect of this whole exchange. "Ito-sama, why don't you just tell Kali-san she cannot stay at the Academy if your family objects so much?"

Kaoru touched Jyuushiro gently on the shoulder. "Because the Shihouin support Yamamoto-Genryuusai-sama in his endeavors, it is a political necessity. I, as the Kuchiki heir, support him as well. For all that there may be traditional objections to Kali going to school there, there are certain balances of power that must be maintained."

Indra had flinched a little at Kaoru's familiar use of Kali's name. Looking directly at Kaoru, he asked uncomfortably, "You're in love with her, right?"

Kaoru nodded. "Very much so."

Indra let out a sigh. "And you're going to do right by her, aren't you?"

"As well as I can."

Soma grinned. "That's good enough for me, little brother."

Indra looked at Soma, and then smiled and nodded back at Kaoru. "All right then."

Kaoru nodded quietly in acknowledgement. Indra went back to finishing his dinner.

There was a long moment's awkward silence, and then conversations began again around the fire, first between the retainers, and then gradually back among the Ito family. Eiji and Rudra quietly talked over what had happened with the Gillian and adjucha. Shunsui and Soma cheerfully teased Unohana-senpai, and she, just as cheerfully but rather more soberly, fended off their attempts.

Jyuushiro settled with a sigh and returned to the cooling contents of his dinner bowl. Behind him, he heard Shunsui ask, incredulously, "You were _drunk_ when you figured out your shikai?"

Shunsui was having a hard time with his conversation. Caught between gut-wrenchingly powerful drink on one hand and a lovely long-haired woman on the other, he was feeling more and more left behind by both of them as their conversation turned towards shikai.

"Well, yeah, I was drunk when I finally heard his name," Soma said. "But I don't think you have to be plastered and trying to stop bandits from robbing a merchant's train to find your own. I know for damn sure Daichi and Eiji weren't, as I don't think they've been drunk ever."

Daichi snorted. "I have been drunk, just not out of my mind drunk. And you are right, I found mine in the middle of a downpour on a flooded field, certainly not when inebriated. And you, Unohana-san, you said you only found yours on your last patrol, how did that happen?"

Unohana wrapped slender fingers about her bowl, which was now filled with hot water and tea. "It's all a whirl of things all mixed together for me. The Hatsuzora fought an adjucha as well on that round, and they were losing badly. I was on the field, pulling in the wounded as I was able, when she started shooting barbs into people and controlling them by them as if they were puppets. She turned the patrol members on their own people."

Shunsui leaned close, catching a breath of her scent as he asked, "How did you fight that, senpai?"

"She was cruel: she clearly wanted the anguish of clan member against clan member, and since I was the outsider, no one attacked me. Thus I was left free to strike directly at her. I was not able to finish her off with my first strike using only my own strength, but I caught her attention with it." Unohana gave a soft laugh. "When I was able to deflect her barbs using Ryuu-sama's teachings, she sent the nearest clan members after me, and I got... hit a few times. The last was a strike by my heart, and I fell..."

"You fell?" Shunsui suddenly had to close his eyes, at the thought of her dying that way.

Unohana nodded. "Yes. Fell... into... another place, it wasn't exactly safe or warm... but it was right. And I was frantic for help, for something, anything to use against that monster, to save all those other people, even if it meant my death or my ending. In answer to my... wish... I believe... she came to me, and I heard her offer her name to me. I took it." Her hand crept to her zanpakutou, and wrapped around the hilt as if for comfort.

Soma nodded. "Yeah, the bandits cut me up pretty badly. I thought I was a goner myself, when I dropped into... somewhere else, green and growing with dancing girls and monkeys and a laughing god whirled up to me and offered me a drink that glowed with golden light. And when I sipped..."

"Monkeys!" Daichi shook his head at Soma's story. "That is a colorful as you are, brother. The world my zanpakutou dropped me into was dark and warm, a cave deep in the heart of the earth." Daichi hesitated and then frowned. "There was a huge flood stone trapping the leg of a child. I dove repeatedly to try and free her in the midst of the storm and flood, when hollows attacked both of us."

"So they were all... only when you were doing something that was going to kill you?" Shunsui asked, brow furrowing.

Unohana shook her head. "That wasn't the foremost thought in my mind. I didn't mind dying at that point. It was the others dying that I hated." The strength of that word sounded odd coming from that soft mouth, that mild expression, but it riveted Shunsui's attention.

"I couldn't die there. Not and leave them all to die. But there was nothing more I could do on my own. I begged and pleaded and offered my life. That's when Minazuki said her name as she swallowed my heart. She healed it, and then the two of us hurt the adjucha enough to chase it off, before doing our best to rescue those we could reach."

"Heh, I knew we were better fighters than the Hatsuzora," Indra said with relish. "They got their butts..."

Daichi whacked Indra over the head. "Idiot."

"I was sad to have lost so many." Unohana's quiet words made Indra wince more than the crack on the head. "But I had to do what I could with what I was given."

Soma nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't die there and then, not when I had another power at my hand to use."

Shunsui listened, fascinated. "How... how did you take that power?"

All four of them just looked at him, puzzled. Indra, Daichi, Unohana, and Soma all had exactly the same expression on their faces.

Finally it was Unohana who said, "I don't know. I just heard her name."

The others nodded as well.

"I supposed that you will know when it happens to you," Unohana added, as if that were any help.

"But I met my zanpakutou's spirit, when I was in that man's grave. But he didn't say anything," Shunsui said, his hands tightening into fists.

"Maybe you didn't need to hear it, yet," Soma said. "It's interesting that yours showed up after the fight, not during. Here. Have another drink."

"Oh, I heard him during, too, but..." Shunsui shook his head, and then took another gulp of the harsh liquid. "He said that I wasn't drunk enough."

Soma gave a shout of laughter. "Well. I can fix that."

"He also said I should have listened." Shunsui sighed. "I'm not sure you can fix that."

"At least I can help make it so you don't care."

Shunsui shook his head, and chuckled. "I guess that will have to do, for now. I guess that will have to do."

* * *

* Means: "The House of Godly Gears"

**Author's Note:**

Thank you everyone for your patience with this story. I'm pushing harder to get a few more chapters out in November, and the mildly more romantic ones of the boys visiting each other's families. Heh. We'll see. Thank you, very much, for the reviews, it's good to know what worked for folks.


	24. The Castle Part 1

When Kyouraku Shunsui returned home, he found himself astonished by how much everything had changed. The river ford, the height of the hill the Kyouraku-jou was built on, the angle of the walls, the tile of the roofs, and even the distance between the walls and the edge of the forest cleared from around the embankments were all as they'd always been, but now he saw them differently.

Even with the terrible hangover from the night before, he could now see just how all those characteristics made the castle defensible. The view the building commanded from the hilltop and covered the valleys and plains all around. The cleared forest now looked like a firing range, the palisades transformed from an amusing climbing challenge to a death trap, the rings of moats changed from places to cool off and fish in the summer to become barriers that would take time to cross and expose the enemy in the process, and the twisted paths within the various walls turned from a great place to run away from irate shopkeepers into a way to trap invaders and kill them.

Shunsui groaned and held his head.

Jyuushiro tapped the bamboo drinking tube at Shunsui's side. "Drink. It'll only help."

"That's not going to help what's _in _my head."

Shunsui took a long pull, tasting ginger and honey, and felt the dried and twisted bits of his mouth, throat, and sinuses uncurl. His classmate had been handing him the damned tube the whole walk from the Academy, and he couldn't deny that it was helping the hangover; but it wasn't helping the fact that his head hurt in other ways.

He stole a glance at the slender, self-composed young man at his side and couldn't help but feel glad and proud that he was bringing Jyuushiro home. Shonetsu was going to try for Jyuushiro, but both of them might give Shonetsu a bit of a surprise. The thought gave Shunsui a sense of satisfaction that surprised him.

Jyuushiro's gaze turned from the rolling winter's hillsides towards Shunsui with speculation and a sort of amused curiosity. "What in the world are you thinking, Shunsui?"

Shunsui grinned. "About what a surprise you will be to my honored elder brother."

"Me?" Jyuushiro's eyebrow came down. The darkness of his eyebrow, contrasting against the white of his hair, always made Shunsui's breath catch.

"Yes. You."

Jyuushiro shrugged. "And was what Daisuke-san said last night a surprise as well?"

"Daisuke-san...." Shunsui frowned.

The night before was mostly a blur after he and Jyuushiro had gone to the Infirmary to tell Nakamura-san about her younger brother, who had died on patrol with them. That had been cause enough for Shunsui to want a drink.

The whole of the Tactics class had been invited to the Red Boar by Daisuke-san, and Yamamoto-sama had shown up just for the dinner. Yamamoto-sama then left the tab open for the whole class. Five things still stood out from a happy mist of drinking, singing with Hayato, groping the waitresses, kissing Chika-chan (whom he'd invited since Unohana-senpai had had to go on with the Shihouin patrol to their castle), and wrestling with Kenshin and Hayato over who was brave enough to swallow a live goldfish swimming drunkenly in a sake bowl.

The first was that everyone had survived their assignments, though it hadn't been from lack of trying on Kali's part. She'd sniffed out and upset a nest of Hollows. The second thing was that Kenshin and Hayato hadn't trusted Kali any further than they could throw her, so had followed. Shunsui was still bemused that Kenshin had gone up a cliff for Kali. The fitting third thing was that the three of them had tackled an Arrancar with about the same results as when he, Kaoru, and Jyuushiro had tackled theirs; they'd been cut to bloody ribbons. Kenshin still had burn marks on his throat and arms from a thing Kali labeled a "cero", so Hollows now had something like their kido skills.

Kuchiki Akemi, Kaoru's great-grandfather, had come to their rescue, as the sheer amount of reiatsu the students had thrown around had managed to alert the whole of the Kuchiki camp. That had launched a discussion about how infrequent bankai was and how impossible it was even in the noble families, much less amid common Lost Souls, which had given Shunsui his fourth memory. It was a sudden, sharp glance between Yamamoto-sama and Daisuke-san that had fired off all kinds of speculation about what his teachers were capable of doing.

The fifth was the wiggle of the goldfish in his throat as it had gone down.

That was kind of unforgettable, along with the fact that both Hayato and Kenshin had downed one as well, with looks on their faces that... well... right. Wiggle.

Shunsui gagged a little at the memory, and felt another tap on the bamboo flask. He took another drink. "Uhm... what did Daisuke-san say?"

"That it looks like war this Spring, when everyone can move around more easily; that he and the high families have finally agreed that enough is enough. These new Hollow threats cannot be ignored."

"Oh, that."

Smaller and smaller farmers' plots turned into kitchen gardens, all dormant under snow; slowly, the houses crowded closer and closer again. There was very little of the ramshackle, falling-down huts of the worst Districts; this was the Fourth District, so all was in good order, and small market squares started appearing with more businesses clustered around them.

Eventually, Jyuushiro continued their conversation. "That. Why doesn't it surprise me that you're not surprised?"

"Mom told me to not come too soon today, as Dad was in Seireitei for the four days and wanted to be home to greet us. I suspect Yamamoto-sama had a few meetings while we were on duty, and that some of our scouting reports had to do with it."

Jyuushiro frowned. "The butterflies?"

"Yes." They'd used Hell Butterflies to send back reports during patrol.

"So everyone knows about the ceros and the flash-step abilities?" Jyuushiro looked thoughtful.

"Hopefully so. Then they can plan for..."

"Young master!!" The cry was followed by an impact of a hug that made Shunsui's head hurt even more. What was more disconcerting was finding that the beanpole-thin body that was clinging to his was now taller than he was.

"Hotaka-chan, by all that's holy, you've grown into your name," Shunsui laughed, and then groaned as the laugh felt like it jarred his brains from his head again.

"Oh, man, you're not _still _hung over, are you?" the tall, thin boy with hair the color of ripe rice crowed. "Tole Shonetsu-san that you'd stay yourself, and even that old man's Academy couldn't wring you out. He owes me." A cool, long glance at Jyuushiro and the mended Academy uniform, and the boy cocked his head. "Bringing a poor student home as charity?"

"Shit, do I have to wipe the walls with you to get you to shut up and be polite, Hotaka?"

"No no... I'd love to know," Jyuushiro said with a pleasant smile. "Is Kyouraku-san in the habit of bringing home poor students?"

Hotaka had the grace to blush. "Nah, not the young Master. It's Shonetsu-san that brings pretty, poor boys home, and they earn their keep. "

"Hotaka!"

"He _asked_!"

Shunsui whacked Hotaka on the back of the head, making the young man yelp, and then ducked the return blow.

"Heh, still got those reflexes. Good. I'll run tell the dojo and housekeeping that you're back, with a guest." The long-legged boy galloped off.

Shunsui watched Jyuushiro's eyes, tracking the motion. "It's going to be all across the castle before we get there. Before we actually walk into the walls, I should warn you."

"Yes, please do." Jyuushiro's tone made Shunsui want to hold his head in his hands again, until Jyuushiro laughed quietly and touched him lightly on his shoulder. "I'd like to know the lay of the land before we... engage."

Shunsui chuckled at Jyuushiro's choice of words. "There's a rock in the river just before the main gate. I'd like... it'd help me to be able to sit there while we talk. The water will mask our talk, and it's a view I've been missing since I went to school."

Jyuushiro nodded, and they walked together.

The houses opened up to the river, and the sight of the dark slow water eased Shunsui's heart. The big rock on this side of the river was still there, and he climbed up onto the black surface. It was veined through with white and gray, and as he'd hoped, the solid bulk of it was warm from sitting in the sun, even while there was still a skim of snow on the ground all around them. Jyuushiro made a pleased sound as he sat down at the top.

"The river is beautiful."

"You can see the path it took from the Koifushi range in the Third District. I always thought it was some dragon lying in the sun, loops coiled among the rolling hills."

"Hmmm..."

They sat there soaking up the sun. Then Shunsui sighed and began.

"So, yeah. I'm the second son. Shonetsu is the first son. He is already the master of the dojo, and he will get the grounds, the castle, the gallery, and will be the head of the family household when it is time. He takes it very seriously, and has had an arranged marriage with the third Hatsuzora daughter since he was two. He doesn't sleep around with girls, as it would jeopardize the marriage; but with boys there's no problem of pregnancies and illegitimate children."

"I am no boy, Shunsui."

Shunsui couldn't help the lightening of his tone when he said, "I am the same age as many of his boys, Jyuushiro. He's not a monster about this at all, they only stay if they really want to, and he's very practical about the arrangements for them and their families. He's always taken care of all his responsibilities and duties and excelled in everything my parents wished he would."

"And for all his discretion you're still disgusted."

Shunsui shook his head. "How do you hear that, Jyuushiro?"

Jyuushiro shrugged. "I know your reiatsu, now. It's surprisingly easy with you, especially when your tone goes…" Jyuushiro lifted his hand. "You sound like you're trying to make a joke out of something spearing through your gut. Is he why you… you went off to just drink and never try?"

"No." Shunsui took a slow breath and lay back on the rock. "Hell if I know why. I was... I was just the spoiled brat of the family."

Shunsui saw Jyuushiro wince.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad. They just let me do what I wanted to do, and it had nothing to do with fighting, with martial arts, with any of the arts for that matter, as they were all things that warriors do that... Shonetsu did. It was all going to be a dead end, and no fun to boot anyway." Then he added bitterly, "It's not like I _wanted _to kill people."

"And you don't; you cleanse Hollows."

Shunsui tried to say _same difference_, but in the back of his head someone or something showed him the memory of the relief, the joy in the woman's spirit after he'd cleansed her, and his throat closed.

Quietly, so quietly, he said, "Yes. I cleanse Hollows."

Jyuushiro sighed. "They're going to expect you to be what you were."

"And I'll probably be exactly the ass I was before I met you," Shunsui said grimly.

"You don't have to be. Especially around me, you don't have to be."

"It's not that easy."

"No, it isn't. I don't expect it will be for me, either."

That unexpected answer lightened Shunsui's mood. It wasn't an empty promise that everything would be all right. "That's so you, Jyuushiro."

"Thank you. Just... remember. You do have me at your back, now."

"Hmmm... I'll try."

"Good."

For a moment they just sat there in the sunshine, listening to the water sliding by their rock perch, and then Shunsui sighed. "Into the den."

Jyuushiro looked pleased. "I've always wanted to meet dragons."

Shunsui's laughter nearly took him into the water; Jyuushiro's cool slender hand caught his, and he held on as Jyuushiro brought him back up onto the rock.

* * *

For all his brave words to Shunsui, Jyuushiro felt intimidated. The wooden walls, gates, huge palisades, and cramped quarters within the Castle did the work they were supposed to do. He saw all the slits for crossbows, arrows, and hot sand. The gates were painted dark as night, and opened soundlessly to a huge gathering of servants that all greeted Shunsui with the proper respect of retainers for the lord's son.

Well, most of them did. Some of the man servants pummeled Shunsui, and they laughed together, and the maids and laundresses and some of the cook's assistants had given Shunsui some very familiar looks indeed. When Jyuushiro had discreetly moved away from Shunsui and his reunion with those that knew him, the bigger man immediately looked for him; and the look in those dark eyes had brought him right back next to Shunsui's side.

He was glad of that cover when Shunsui's parents entered the hall, and everyone except Shunsui went down on their knees. When Jyuushiro made a motion to go down as well, Shunsui's big hand wrapped around his upper arm and kept him standing.

The Kyouraku Lord and Lady were everything Jyuushiro would have expected them to be, and then some. The Lord was the same height that Shunsui was, and the Lady nearly as tall. Dark of eye and hair as their son, they had come from their morning audience, so were dressed in gorgeous, long formal robes. The Lady carried a fan as well. Their reiatsu was powerful, solid, hinting of deep roots and the depths of moonlit nights. Their regal bearing and shining silk made Jyuushiro feel very mean and road-stained.

Lady Kyouraku surprised Jyuushiro by laughing, and then moving to Shunsui with surprising speed, given the tightness of her kimono. She threw her arms around him. Shunsui caught her and hugged her back happily.

"Mom," he said quietly.

"My spring waters," she said happily and kissed Shunsui on the cheek. "Welcome back home."

"Indeed, I never would have thought it, but you've actually distinguished yourself, Shunsui," said Lord Kyouraku as he came over. He looked over Jyuushiro. "You must be Ukitake. Shunsui has said only a very little about you, but your reports have spoken volumes as to your judgment and eye for capabilities."

Jyuushiro bowed low. "Thank you, but your son had his part in those reports as well. I am named Ukitake Jyuushiro. Honoured to meet you."

"Kyouraku Yori," offered Shunsui's father.

"I am named Kyouraku Miyako," said his mother.

With a lift of an eyebrow, Yori-sama asked, "Shunsui actually wrote part of the report?"

Jyuushiro shrugged. "They were my butterflies, but Shunsui and Kaoru helped me with what to report back."

Both of Shunsui's parents looked at Shunsui, and he straightened under their combined interest. "But I was the first to get taken out in the actual fight."

"You were also the first into that hellish fight, because you had to help them out," Jyuushiro said acerbically.

The sound of indrawn breathes all around the room was the first thing to remind Jyuushiro that he was speaking in front of a room filled with retainers. The second was Shunsui covering his face with his palm under the very, very interested gaze of his parents.

"Serving the good of the people before you?" Miyako-dono's voice was gentle and amused, and Jyuushiro saw the hot blush flood into Shunsui's cheeks.

"I guess so, mother."

She gave him another hug. "I'm proud of you."

"I don't know why... I nearly died."

"Still slacking, hm, Shunsui-chan?"

The man that strode into the room seemed to fill it with his presence, as well as the heat and strength of his reiatsu and the intensity of his regard. Powerfully built, he was shorter than Shunsui, but wore the simple garb of traditional black kimono and hakama. There was nothing to detract from his solidity and forceful motions. Dark hair in a traditional queue, dark-eyed, clean-shaven and upright, the man who was obviously Shunsui's brother eyed Jyuushiro.

"Indeed, honored brother." Shunsui's smooth tone locked into place with an almost audible click.

"Typical of you, running into a fight you weren't equipped to handle. Haven't they been teaching you anything there?" Shonetsu prowled closer to Jyuushiro, even as he spoke to Shunsui.

"A few things," Shunsui said, slouching even more, "... but lately I've been learning a bit with a few friends I've been sparring against. I'd love to show you sometime."

Jyuushiro met Shonetsu's eyes and offered, "I am called Ukitake Jyuushiro. And you...?"

The polite inquiry, put so formally, should have put some distance between them: nothing quite so formal as to give offense, but also nothing friendly to grasp as well.

Shonetsu brought up short with the faintest exhalation. "I am Kyouraku Shonetsu."

They both bowed to each other, and the look in Shonetsu's eye was speculative as he continued, "I shall look forward to meeting you in the dojo if you are one of Shunsui's sparring partners."

"Likewise, I'm sure," Jyuushiro said quietly, and didn't react at all to Shunsui's sudden grin behind his brother's back. The "if" hadn't escaped Jyuushiro's attention, and the implied meanings should have amused him, but instead he felt a hot resentment that surprised him with its intensity.

It must have showed in his reiatsu, as there were a few gasps from the retainers, Shunsui's eyes went wide, and Shonetsu's head went up as if slapped.

"Excuse my... inexperience," Jyuushiro said quietly and earned a surprising snort from, of all people, Miyako-dono.

Miyako-dono rapped Shonetsu on the back of the head with her fan. "You deserved that, with the strength of his reiatsu. Idiot. All right, off everybody, you have work to do. You'd think your only duties were to gawk at the young master and his friend. Get going."

They got. Laughing and chattering, the crowd flowed out of the room.

Miyako-dono then looked at Shunsui and Jyuushiro. "I need to get out of these robes and into the kitchen for tonight's dinner. I expect you two there. Take your friend on a tour of the place so that he doesn't get lost later, and don't get too badly hurt the first day in the dojo. Please?"

"I'm not about to work up that big a sweat," Shunsui said laughingly.

Jyuushiro watched in fascination, as both Yori-dono and Shonetsu shook their heads at exactly the same instant with exactly the same expression of disapproval.

"Well, if you do, there's a change of clothing for both of you for dinner. I'll expect you to use it."

"Yes, ma'am," Jyuushiro said.

The crack of Miyako-dono's fan startled Jyuushiro more than it stung him. It was far heavier than he'd expected, given how gracefully she wielded it, and was that an edge? "'Ma'am.' Next thing you'll call me is 'old grandmother'. Try Miyako."

"Uhm... yes, Miyako-dono."

"That's better, but... why does no one listen to me?" she asked exasperated, and sailed off in the wake of the bemused expressions on all four men's faces.

"That was a battle fan," Jyuushiro said in awe.

"Sort of," Shunsui said, amusement deepening his voice. "That was Mom's zanpakutou."

* * *

It had taken Jyuushiro a very long time to persuade Shunsui that yes, indeed, they should go practice in the dojo. There were only a few months before the spring campaign, and both of them would lose far too much ground if they skipped too many days.

Still, when Shunsui saw the crowd packing the dojo, he turned around. Jyuushiro's hand on his shoulder made him stop.

"Shunsui?"

"I'm not... not some show animal to be paraded before everyone."

"I seriously doubt they're thinking of it that way."

"You don't understand what it's like to have magically great martial arts things expected of you your whole life."

"No, you're right. I don't." The humor in Jyuushiro's voice made Shunsui look at him. "They mostly expected me to just die."

Shunsui sighed. "You want to practice in the middle of all that?"

"You want to practice where your brother might be able to see us?"

Shunsui groaned. "When you put it that way, maybe we should just find a cave or a mountain top or something. Shit, Jyuushiro. That's..."

"Running away?" The smooth voice cut through the babble, silencing it immediately.

"Yes," Shunsui said decisively, without even looking up.

"What and leave us unenlightened as to what Yamamoto-shishou is now teaching his student with respect to sword play?"

"Yes. It's not... we're not enlightening, honored brother."

"What? And I heard that you had a few zanjutsu tricks that were giving Ryuu-sama headaches."

Shunsui groaned. "That's not..."

"They're not exactly tricks," Jyuushiro said thoughtfully.

That made Shunsui look up, and he saw Shonetsu standing far too close to Jyuushiro. Half a dozen of the eldest students were clustered about, watching the whole conversation with interest.

"No, they're not tricks," Shunsui said, feeling oddly defeated. "They were just what we had to do to figure something out."

"Figure what out?"

"Two-sword techniques," Jyuushiro said and drew a frown from Shonetsu.

"How do you compensate for the lack of strength in a single arm compared to both arms?"

"Compensate?" Shunsui asked a little confused. "I just duck faster..."

There were chuckles of amusement from some of the students. Shonetsu took the opportunity, as ever, to make it into a lecture. "A sword in one hand always moves more slowly than a sword wielded with both hands, because one arm is always weaker than two. You will always be at some disadvantage on every hit or block."

"If it's a straight-on block," Jyuushiro said quietly, "and if one's strength is the same as one's opponent's."

"Ah, right, that's where the ducking comes in then."

Both Jyuushiro and Shunsui nodded.

"Show us?" Shonetsu asked and made it sound like a challenge.

Shunsui felt Jyuushiro watching him, and he knew that his friend would actually back him up on any decision he made, even if it was to just skip practice today when they really couldn't afford to do so...

"All right," Shunsui said and felt Jyuushiro relax.

"Will wonders never cease?" mocked Shonetsu, but he gave way to let them enter the dojo first.

They bowed at the door of the dojo and then moved in. Shonetsu and the other students followed, doing the same. There were other workouts going on: several other classes, some taught by senior students, while other students were just sparring or stretching.

Jyuushiro and Shunsui had brought along their full armor and shinai, as well as bokken for kata. When they were just practicing reflex work, the armor kept the accidental damage to a minimum. So they strapped everything on, and walked onto the floor to face each other.

"Wait a minute." Shonetsu's voice was smooth. "I'd like to face you myself, Shunsui. I want to see how you've developed while you were away."

Shunsui sighed and played for a moment with the idea of just saying no, but he saw Jyuushiro watching him quietly.

"Do you really want to play at zanjutsu, or just kendo?"

"Let's start with plain kendo."

Shunsui nodded, relieved: if it was just the plain question of technique against technique, and not power on power, he could deal with his brother.

They saluted, bowed to each other, and drew their shinai.

Jyuushiro smoothly sat seiza at the side; both their sheathed zanpakutou and his shinai to one side, his helmet and gloves to the other. He'd taken to using two long shinai when working with Shunsui to master the non-synchronous hits that could not be blocked by a single blade. He still used his single blade against most other opponents, but for safety's sake, he was learning how to block Shunsui with both.

Other students settled by Jyuushiro, all giving the fighters plenty of room to move.

There was a moment's pause as everyone settled. Then Shonetsu ran in, with an overhand blow straight for Shunsui's head. Shunsui dodged to his right, but Shonetsu's shinai followed. The change in direction made the strike slant, so Shunsui reinforced that slant with his shorter shoto, using Shonetsu's own shoulders as the fulcrum for turning his brother's body. He caught the tip of Shonetsu's blade immediately above the hilt of the shoto, the weak part of Shonetsu's blade to his strong, and brought up his long daito, threaded edge up, to whack the throat plate of Shonetsu's armor.

Shonetsu disengaged, moved back, and murmured, "Ducking, hm? Let's try that again."

They circled again.

This time Shonetsu kept his distance, letting the play develop, and giving himself the room to react to Shunsui's first movements. This was harder. But Shunsui let himself relax, flow with what he saw instead of what he thought, and let both hands go in to play.

Shonetsu started with two quick cuts right and then left at his full distance, where the tip would just reach Shunsui, but Shunsui jumped back. He followed Shonetsu's retreat after that attempt and thrust straight forward with his daito. Shonetsu intercepted neatly, pushing it out of the way and then coming back in a fast sweeping backhand strike. Shunsui had no choice but to try and block the edge with the shoto in his right hand. He changed the angle so that the blow hit the hand guard hard, rather than the blade; and, as he had hoped, the force of Shonetsu's attack knocked him back several yards.

Shonetsu wasn't holding back.

_Good_. Even without flaring his reiatsu, Shunsui heard that voice in the back of his head and the clear approval of what he was doing.

The exchanges got faster and harder, and neither of them stopped even at what would have been scoring blows. Shunsui figured out that his brother couldn't reach quite as far as he could, so he danced on the edge of Shonetsu's range, turning blows with one shinai while hitting him with the other. Then, somehow, Shonetsu got even faster. He saw Jyuushiro's head go up, as Shonetsu's sun-hot reiatsu started flooding the area.

Shunsui growled, "No reiatsu play, you said."

"Well, to start, I said. You have some: Ryuu-sama told Dad about those reiatsu tricks that you can do even with shinai. Use them on me."

"Why?"

"I want to see everything you can do, Shunsui."

"And if I don't want to show you?"

Shonetsu laughed, flared completely, and charged Shunsui.

The power within Shunsui growled, and he flared as well; his reiatsu ran down the edges of his shinai, just like when he'd done the live blade practices with Jyuushiro. Well, if the fool wanted to see everything....

Instead of paying any attention at all to Shonetsu's attack, Shunsui struck with his long daito first, using all the additional reach he had, in an attempt to land the tip of that blade on his brother's chest before his brother could even touch him

Shonetsu aborted his attack to block Shunsui's weapon with his own. In reaction, Shunsui moved in more closely and used his shoto to slice right through Shonetsu's side armor. A line of red sprang vivid on the lacquered surface, and there was a moan of disbelief from the students.

Shonetsu whirled and tried to gut Shunsui, but Shunsui blocked it easily with his shoto. The shoto was better suited to in-fighting than the long blade of the daito. Shunsui didn't bother bringing his longer blade back in, and sure enough, Shonetsu was the one that disengaged, jumping back.

He'd backed into the stand that held his zanpakutou... and that was when Shonetsu surprised the hell out of Shunsui by grabbing his zanpakutou and saying, "Suntiger, flare!"

The dojo rumbled with the hot power of Shonetsu's release, the heat of it flickered all over Shunsui's skin; and even as he took two steps back he saw half the watching students keel right over.

Jyuushiro's sea reiatsu flooded forth, as he stood up with his zanpakutou bared.

Shunsui growled, "No. This is stupid. It was supposed to just be..."

In the middle of his sentence, killing intent chilled him to the bone; and Shonetsu charged him faster than he could actually see. Trained reflexes fired, and there was a wordless shout of power in the back of his head. He blinked and found three blades crossing the flame of his brother's released zanpakutou; crossing and stopping the power that streamed forth from it.

Shonetsu snarled and pushed, but together Jyuushiro and Shunsui held even in the surge.

Then just as abruptly as his zanpakutou had flared, it snuffed out. Two hot fast breaths later, Shonetsu stepped back and bowed a short, abrupt bow.

"Well done, brother."

Shunsui stared at him, bewildered at the praise, and then awkwardly straightened before throwing both of his shinai at the far wall. They hit with a satisfying crack. "You asshole! What the fuck were you trying to pull! That was the stupidest shit I've ever..."

Shonetsu punched Shunsui in the shoulder. "What... you can't take a joke?"

"A joke is 'a horse walked into a bar'; it's not trying to kill me!"

Shonetsu shrugged. "You've improved."

"You were still trying to kill me!"

"Couldn't do it. You're better than you were, and you brought everything you had to bear on the problem, including your friend here. That's not something you used to do, and I thought I'd really see how much you could do."

Shunsui brought his fist back, and then felt Jyuushiro's cool touch on his elbow. He growled but relaxed his stance.

"Fucking warn me next time..."

"Your enemies won't warn you, either, Shunsui."

"Are you saying you're my enemy?"

Shonetsu looked taken aback. "No."

"Then why the fuck did you do that?"

"To know where you are, what you're doing, what you've done these last few months. You're much better than when you left. The whole concept of using two blades is good, given that you've really improved your reiatsu. One of your swords in your left hand should be a match for most people once you've attained shikai."

"And with bankai he'd be more than a match for nearly everyone," Jyuushiro said quietly.

Shonetsu's eyes narrowed. "If your Academy can actually figure out how to _teach _people to attain bankai, then it really will be worth it."

Shunsui groaned, and used his empty hands to grab Shonetsu's shoulders and shake him. "You still haven't answered my question! You can't tell me you were trying to kill me just to see how strong I was, can you?"

"What else are brothers for?" Shonetsu laughed.

"Gah!"

Shonetsu patted Shunsui on the back, and gave Jyuushiro a far more polite bow than at their first meeting. "See you two at dinner. Enjoy the dojo."

Together Jyuushiro and Shunsui watched Shonetsu help some of the recovering students back up from where they'd fallen, and then gather them up for a class.

"Do you _see _why I hate him?"

Jyuushiro nodded, and said thoughtfully, "I think I see."

Shunsui went and picked up his shinai, and came back avoiding the looks from the students around him. "Do you still want to practice here?"

"Sure, why not?"

"After that fiasco?"

"What fiasco?" Jyuushiro gave Shunsui a grin.

"Huh?"

"Well, look at them."

Shunsui had kept his focus entirely on Jyuushiro up to this point. He finally looked around, and saw that some of the stronger students were now watching them curiously. When Shonetsu got more involved with the class he was teaching, several of the students started drifting up to them, and one shyly asked to see the bloodied string that marked the 'edge' of Shunsui's shoto. Soon they had a small crowd of admirers around them.

Jyuushiro quirked a grin at Shunsui. "Shunsui, remember when you said that I'd be a surprise for your brother?"

Shunsui nodded.

"Well, maybe we both turned out to be something of a surprise."

Shunsui laughed and shook his head. "Maybe you're right, Jyuushiro, maybe you're right."

* * *

**Author's Notes**: _Many thanks for everyone that's stuck it out, the second half of this episode should be up within the week, and I'm working on Ukitake's family now. I'm finally getting back on track with the help of incandescens. I would like to thank lifejournal's flemmings and aruarian_dancer for helping me with the nuances of translating Kyouraku's profile from the manga. _

_Kyouraku-jou is NOT period for 0 AD in Japan, but it's more of a conglomeration of a lot of Japanese castle designs I studied as research for this. I used wikipedia's entry on Japanese castles, angelfire's article on Shiro, and his treatise on the art of siege warfare as well a dozens of lovely images of Japanese castles that Google found for me. _

* * *


	25. The Castle Part 2

Before dinner, the two of them washed up and changed into the clothing laid out for them, and then Shunsui fulfilled the other part of his mother's requirements and took Jyuushiro around the castle. The layout was a little confusing, as there were actually five floors within the externally visible three, their bedroom being on the warmest top floor. There were various bedrooms, guest rooms, the house shrine, the bath house, the bustling kitchen, various gardens about the building, and finally a library and gallery that was the pride and joy of the Kyouraku clan.

Shunsui had forgotten just how much he'd always loved his father's gallery. The paintings with poetry hung with care. Scrolls and bamboo tube carvings carefully stacked on shelves. He'd forgotten about all the paintings his father had chosen from generations' worth of artists as well as work from Yori himself, Miyako, and Shonetsu and his artistic friends. Much of the artwork and calligraphy were examples of _bunbu ryodo_, how the mind and brush worked in tandem with the sword. The same confidence one took into sword work was necessary for the exacting medium of ink painting.

He remembered many of the paintings: the koi, birds and flowers, the mountains with waterfalls or lost in mist, the trees, the cranes, and several groves of bamboo, some under moonlight. But he was surprised at the painting that caught Jyuushiro's attention.

Shunsui went up to stand behind Jyuushiro as he studied the single fisherman sitting in a small sampan in the middle of a vast lake, with only hints of a far shore, and the snaking curves of the near shore with a scraggly, beaten-down pine tree in the corner.

"They... they put it up..." Shunsui said, half in horror and half in disbelief.

"Why not? It's lovely," Jyuushiro answered, studying the tiny boat. "It seems so lonely."

"Because it's something I painted, just before I left." Shunsui traced one of the broken lines for one of the pine branches with a fingertip. "I never thought... I was always so far behind Shonetsu..."

"Obviously someone liked it enough to put it up, now."

"Not just someone. My father," Shunsui breathed. This act wasn't something he could argue with or disregard. His father actually liked something he'd done, well enough to display it.

"Why did you pick this to paint?" Jyuushiro asked.

"I always thought how peaceful it would be to be on that little boat with nothing to do but wait for a fish to bite."

"Hm."

"What are you thinking?"

"The spaces, the rooms in this castle are immense, and so... empty, compared to my home. I wonder if you'll feel claustrophobic when we get to my home."

Shunsui chuckled. "Follow me."

Jyuushiro frowned but followed, as Shunsui swept around a bookshelf corner, and startled two maids who giggled behind their sleeves and cleaning cloths. He made shooing motions as if chasing off chickens. "Go on."

"Oh, young master, do we really have to go?" complained Yua-chan.

"We're supposed to be dusting this place," said Aina-chan, with a look at Jyuushiro that made him blush. "Awww... and he's blushing! So cute! Can't we..." And Aina-chan moved in close to Shunsui, sliding up against him with a motion that made Shunsui's mouth go dry. She'd always been willing when he'd been home, and he'd always enjoyed her attentions; but under Jyuushiro's steady gaze he sighed even as he hugged her.

"Ah, sweet Aina-chan. I do love the things you do, but I'm supposed to show Jyuushiro around."

"When have you started doing what you were supposed to do, Shunsui-pon?" Aina-chan's smile was a little wicked.

Shunsui was tempted to say that he had no idea why he was being stupid now, but then Jyuushiro chuckled, and said quietly, "I think ever since he found me crumpled with a broken leg, two kids, and two Hollows trying to eat us all."

"A broken leg! You poor thing!" The maids crowded around Jyuushiro, and Shunsui was left feeling very strange about the whole thing, not quite sure if he was glad or unhappy at the sudden turn of attentions. The girls giggled and hugged both Jyuushiro and him, then turned and left.

"Hm. I think I now see why you liked that little boat," Jyuushiro said slowly.

Shunsui just shook his head. "It's like that all the time, too. Attention all the time, and I'm never quite sure how much of it's actually for me, and how much of it is just because I'm the young master, the one this all falls on if something happens to Shonetsu."

Jyuushiro pursed his lips. "Damn, that sounds lonely, too."

Shunsui laughed and shook his head. "It's not that bad."

"You keep saying that."

"And I mean it, too. Compared to going hungry all the time, compared to all those lives that are lived in fear or in the squalor of Rukongai, compared to being a Hollow or on patrol all the time, with my life on the line... it was easy."

"Easy doesn't always equate with good, Shunsui." Jyuushiro's reiatsu was wrapped in an odd ache that Shunsui couldn't figure out. It wasn't the acid of pity, but it was sad, tinged with humor and with an odd kind of pride. "How do you really feel about having been on patrol, about what we did?"

The flood of satisfaction at having stepped in, of having done what Kaoru said they couldn't, of having made a difference in that desperate fight was unexpected. He saw Jyuushiro's lips quirk up in a grin.

"Remember that, Shunsui."

Shunsui nodded, and hoped he would.

* * *

Dinner started out quietly enough. Remarks about the weather, how the travel conditions had been on the road, the state of the road, the upkeep of the farms along the way, and the state of Seireitei were easy, quiet conversation. Since Yori-dono had been to Seireitei just in the past days, he did most of the answering. The dinner was delicious, with dozens of dishes in several courses. Jyuushiro was bemused as Miyako-dono began to put delicacies on both his and Shunsui's plates.

The whole family got into a political discussion over the latter parts of the meal. Jyuushiro simply kept his head down and listened as they talked over the states of all the major families.

"What are the stances of the clans in Seireitei now, Yori, dear?" Miyako-dono asked.

Yori-dono took a moment to think and then answered, "Shihouin is the only clan that has thrown itself solidly behind Yamamoto-sama, his school, and his way of approaching the growing Hollow problems. The Kuchiki clan has voiced serious doubts about Yamamoto's use of the various Rukongai District's common souls, but hasn't quite withdrawn its support."

"I'd heard their heir has something to do with their buying in," Shonetsu said, nose wrinkling. He turned towards Shunsui. "He's at your school, isn't he?"

"Yes. He's one of our classmates," Shunsui answered easily.

"Given what Shunsui seems to have picked up, I can see why he might feel that way," Shonetsu said, and Jyuushiro saw Miyako-dono's eyebrows go up. "What about the Hatsuzora? They were pretty vocal about it all being a stupid idea."

Yori-dono chuckled. "Yes. Indeed. They made it very clear. Their representative only showed up long enough to scold us all for even accepting Yamamoto-sama's invitation as it was an obvious ploy to strip us all of our powers, and then left in a huff."

"The Ryuu and Shiba are straddling the fence," he went on, "accepting the training, but still resistant to the idea of pooling their forces for an overall strike in the spring."

"We're not throwing in with them, are we?" Shonetsu asked. "How would it benefit us to go fight everyone else's Hollows?"

Jyuushiro couldn't help it: he sighed at that, and immediately got Shonetsu's attention turned on him.

"Well?"

Shunsui came to his rescue. "Well, think about what you just said."

Shonetsu frowned.

It was Miyako-dono that said, "If everyone else's Hollows were gone, they'd be free to fight ours as well; and then they would all be gone, or, perhaps, elsewhere."

Shonetsu digested that. "It's hard to stomach the thought that my people might die for others' lands, when there's no guarantee that they would do the same for us."

Yori-dono sighed. "That is the rub. How will we know that they will follow through even for us and the smaller clansmen for whom we are responsible?"

"Perhaps because everyone's children will be involved," Jyuushiro interjected.

"So we're fighting for everyone's futures?" Miyako-dono asked.

Jyuushiro nodded.

"Idealistic." Yori-dono didn't sound displeased by that, and Jyuushiro relaxed.

"We're still giving up autonomy in order to do this," Shonetsu said mulishly. "Maybe the Hatsuzora are right, and all Yamamoto really wants in the end is all the military and ruling power in his own hands? We shouldn't turn everyone over to him: he might use the military to take over all the lands."

"So you think I would actually lead our forces against our homes?" Yori-dono shook his head. "I don't think any of these forces would lose sight of the fact that we're only together to cleanse Hollows."

"By taking forces from all the clans, it would be hard for him to use them to seize power" Miyako-dono agreed. "I hadn't thought it all the way through that way."

Jyuushiro saw Shunsui suddenly frown; but as Shonetsu simply nodded at what his mother said, he let the conversation drop as well.

Later, the two of them took a jug of heated sake out to the garden, to watch the moon on the snow and watch the water drip off the icicles in the stream over the pond. They brought quilts, lit the stone lamp by the bridge, and built a nest out of the quilts on the stone bench that was placed in the perfect viewing spot under gnarled pines. They leaned against each other, wrapping the quilts about both of them, sharing their warmth, and Shunsui poured.

Jyuushiro cupped his sake bowl in his hands, and a slow sip burned its way down his throat.

"Mmmm..." sighed Shunsui. "Uncle Isamu sure knows his stuff."

"Indeed."

For a long moment they simply watched the light on the roofs, the glint off the snow, the sound of the water running, and sipped their sake together. Then it started to snow. Small drifting flakes gleamed white against the darkness, lit by the lamplight.

"They're like lazy stars, dancing down to earth rather than falling with a tail of fire," Shunsui murmured in wonder.

Jyuushiro simply leaned in closer and pulled Shunsui's arm about him. Shunsui sighed into his hair, and then settled against him.

"What were you frowning about at dinner?" Jyuushiro asked.

"The smelt. It was just terribly greasy," Shunsui said seriously, and took another sip before pouring more into both their cups.

Jyuushiro shook his head. "No, I meant after your father said he would never lead his forces against his people. You frowned after that, and it made me think."

"Uh oh."

"No, really. I mean, the logical next step..."

Shunsui hugged Jyuushiro tight, interrupting him, and then abruptly moved away from him; that was when Jyuushiro felt the sun-warmth of Shonetsu's reiatsu approaching them. The sturdy figure loomed out of the falling snow. He was wearing a hat along with several layers of quilted kimono, and he didn't pause when he saw them, probably having sensed them as soon as they'd sensed him.

"Good evening, onii-sama," Shunsui said quietly.

"Oh, drop the damned -sama, Shunsui," Shonetsu said irritably. "You're being formal enough that I wonder what you're hiding all the time. You too, Ukitake."

Jyuushiro didn't know how to respond to that, so he nodded.

Shonetsu dropped onto the bench and looked around. "It is beautiful here. I so rarely stop any more to see..." He sighed, and then looked at Jyuushiro. "You are beautiful, and I was stupid enough to think that that meant you weren't smart. I heard what you said..."

Jyuushiro's mind homed in on the question, not the remark about his looks. "So you think..."

Shunsui interrupted Jyuushiro with a groan. "We don't know anything."

"But it's too good a setup." Shonetsu leaned back and studied the sky. "If one of the other clan leaders gets rid of Yamamoto-sama, steps into his place, they'd get all the troops. If there are no Hatsuzora amid the troops, who's gonna stop that army from taking over Hitsuzora lands?"

"Just anyone with a decent bone in their body," Jyuushiro said quietly. "Don't underestimate that."

"Unless Hatsuzora starts it," Shunsui said, and then groaned. "Crap."

Shonetsu laughed and touched his nose. "You have definitely gotten better, brother. That next step is a big one. Keep taking them, and we may actually be ready when it happens."

Jyuushiro sighed, and took a bigger gulp of the sake than he was quite ready for. It burned its way down his throat, and he coughed. Shunsui put a hand, hidden by the quilts, against Jyuushiro's back, and Jyuushiro relaxed against the touch, as Shonetsu looked at them. Shunsui's hand did not withdraw; instead, the bigger man drew closer to Jyuushiro. Jyuushiro closed his eyes: feeling like he was jumping into a deep pool, he leaned quietly against Shunsui.

Shonetsu sighed. "I always thought you were the lucky one, brother. Now I know."

Shunsui snorted. "You have everything, Shonetsu."

"And have to take care of it all." Shonetsu leaned forward a little, hands clasped together under his chin. "Do you know how many livestock disputes there are? The amount of water we have to store and restore each month so that we can withstand a siege? The taxes that have to be collected from shopkeepers more worried about their bottom line than the safety of the streets that go in front of their shops?"

"I have some idea. It's why I ran away as fast as I could."

"And left all the work to me." Shonetsu sighed again. "You have another cup there?"

"Here..." Shunsui said quietly, "we can share." He filled the delicate cup and placed it in his brother's big hand.

Shonetsu drank it all down, and held it out for Shunsui to refill it, and then took another long, slow sip before handing it back to Shunsui, who took another drink himself.

"Is this... will this be your way of sharing, Shunsui?"

"Hm?"

Shonetsu growled quietly. "You know what I mean."

Shunsui sighed and refilled the cup, handing it back again. "Probably. I'll fight against the Hollows to protect us and everyone else."

"Will you watch out for our interests?"

"When they coincide with the interests of all of Soul Society, yes."

"And when they don't?"

Jyuushiro closed his eyes and felt Shunsui's arm tighten around him.

"Then Soul Society's needs will win," Shunsui said slowly.

Shonetsu's big hands tightened around the cup until the knuckles showed white: remarkably, the cup held. Shonetsu sighed and took another sip. "Well, it's better than having you run away from everything, and having you be the one to take the big view..." He chuckled. "Mom's pretty pleased, you know?"

"She would be." Shunsui sounded sulky to Jyuushiro's ears.

Shonetsu chuckled, and his grip eased as he drank. "Why in the world do you want to disappoint us?"

"It's not that..." Shunsui sighed. "I'm not sure now, what it is. But the weight of all your expectations..."

"Brother, you've taught us all the folly of expecting anything from you." Shonetsu's tone was very dry indeed.

Jyuushiro sniffed. "Maybe your requests have just been too small. Have you asked him to save your life, kill a Hollow you've never seen before, or..."

"... go skinny-dipping on a lake frequented by artful ladies?" Shunsui laughed, and deftly took the cup from his brother's hands. "No, Jyuushiro, he's right. I've ducked everything they ever thought I might do, which is why I got tossed out on my ear."

Jyuushiro turned to look up at Shunsui, who calmly refilled and drank from the cup and handed it back to Shonetsu before looking at Jyuushiro.

"What?"

"You must have developed a fine sense of what you should do by doing only what you should not," Jyuushiro said, and heard Shonetsu snort and then cough inhaled sake.

Shunsui's eyes gleamed as he whacked his brother between the shoulder blades. "I think you've hit the nail on the head, Jyuushiro."

* * *

The next few days were a blur of activities, as Shunsui wanted to show Jyuushiro everything that made up his childhood, and, in the process, got caught up on a lot of things he hadn't seen in years. The fire watch in the forest, Uncle Isamu's brewery in the midst of the rice fields, the market in the town square where they were handed all kinds of free food, the local bars where all the wintered farmers had gathered, and even watching as his parents held court. They took a special trip to Shunsui's favorite clothing maker, where he bought Jyuushiro a new uniform, since he still had trouble looking at the one that had been mended all across the side.

His usual feeling of obligation, of somehow owing everyone around him more than he could pay, still existed. What surprised him was finding that he had an easier time being gracious about it. His memories of digging the graves and the efforts he'd made on the mountain and while on patrol made him feel as if he had done something no one else could do; and Jyuushiro was quick to jog those memories when he found himself floundering.

They also practiced every day in the dojo. They got politely interrupted by students, by Shonetsu, and then by each of his parents to have practice matches with plain shinai, instead of edges and reiatsu. Jyuushiro had fought as well as he could, but stuck with just a single shinai. He asked about the Kyouraku kendo kata, and managed to absorb several of the routines in the time they were there.

Shunsui had stepped into some of the kata lessons, won a few practice bouts against the other students, and managed to lose every practice bout against his family; however, it had been a near thing with his mother. She was so fast, he couldn't plan or think through his strategy; he could only work off his reflexes, which were now quick enough that he ended up with a few really strong hits.

Her speculative look after that bout had driven him to the liquor stores.

Aina-chan had tried to take advantage of him when he was in the midst of his binge, but one of the court messenger boys came running to find the maid for a special cleaning job. Jyuushiro had trailed behind, sent by Miyako to find him.

"She just said to tell you that Aina-chan is now betrothed, and she didn't want Aina-chan's fiancé to get into more trouble than he can deal with," Jyuushiro said with some bemusement.

Shunsui grumbled softly under his breath and reached for the bottle. Jyuushiro kept him company, and drank tea as Shunsui got thoroughly hammered. He was also there to hold Shunsui's hair back as he suffered through the violent consequences, give him a cup of clear water, and then silently attend to the results. Now he read a scroll by the light of the one unshuttered window, while Shunsui lay on their futon. They had pushed their futons together, but had been so tired or so drunk the last several evenings that all they'd done was sleep next to each other.

"Why don't you say anything?" Shunsui asked blearily as he propped himself up to drink from a cup by the bed.

Jyuushiro looked at him. "What should I say?"

"I don't know. 'Why are you being so stupid?' is customary in these circumstances, or 'Why are you wasting yourself like this?', or maybe even the lovely, 'You idiot, drowning your sorrows is no way to go. Why don't you get up and fix it?'"

Jyuushiro raised a black eyebrow. "Fix what?"

Shunsui fell back, grunting as the jolt jarred his aching head. "Hell if I know."

Jyuushiro chuckled. "Well, there you go. I think you've already fixed what you've wanted to, and are just adjusting to the change."

Shunsui groaned. "I wish it would adjust more easily."

"Well, you're certainly applying plenty of lubricant." Jyuushiro said teasingly.

"Gah."

Jyuushiro just chuckled and went back to reading, his calm sea reiatsu a soothing coolness against Shunsui's agitation. He wasn't sure why he was so upset, why he'd done his best to hide his abilities from his family after Shonetsu's test; or why it upset him so much to have his mother see more of what he could do. Shunsui lay back, closed his eyes, and let Jyuushiro's familiar depth of power wash over him. He savored the stability of it, the unassuming peace that the other man always carried with him, and that odd gut-knowledge that Jyuushiro would be there, no matter what Shunsui could or couldn't do.

Maybe it was that Jyuushiro had started thinking he was completely useless, expecting nothing, and then he'd gone through that hell of a beating anyway; then he had accepted Shunsui's help, and given his help with the kids with no questions, no evaluations. They'd nearly died on patrol together, and Jyuushiro had never spoken to him about what he should have done. He'd waited for the other shoe to drop and it never had, just as Kaoru had been utterly silent about how they'd failed, other than to blame himself and his lack of leadership.

He liked it.

He liked living up to what Jyuushiro thought of him, the smile on Jyuushiro's face when Shunsui thanked the other students for their fights instead of running away from the admiration on their faces. He'd liked sharing his enthusiasm and respect for Uncle Isamu's venture into sake brewing with Jyuushiro: it was a business that the other family members had disdained, but Jyuushiro had been as fascinated with the mechanisms of polishing rice and fermentation as Shunsui had.

The problem was that he liked Jyuushiro's respect so much that he now wondered what it would be like to have those kinds of reactions, feelings, from his family. He moved restlessly under the covers. He'd always assumed that would be impossible. What if he were wrong?

What if she'd been right?

He'd been so resentful and angry when they'd thrown him out.

Shunsui sighed, turned, put his arm over his eyes, and felt Jyuushiro come to his side, and the cool touch of his fingertips along Shunsui's heated skin.

"We're supposed to go on to my family tomorrow, Shunsui, but we can stay another day if you need to."

Shunsui moved his arm to look up into Jyuushiro's eyes, and managed a grin. "What? And have your family come after me for not getting you home in time for your birthday? No thank you."

Jyuushiro laughed. "I've had plenty of other birthdays: missing just one won't kill me."

Shunsui shook his head, and felt good about the fact that it didn't fall off. "No. I'll make it."

Jyuushiro stroked his hair back gently. "This place makes you so tense. I'm so used to you being the one that takes everything easy, the one who makes me stop and enjoy what we're doing, where we are; but here you seem to drink more, watch every corner, and it's really odd to see you worry."

"Worry. I seem worried?"

Jyuushiro frowned. "Maybe not to anyone else..." His hands stroked along Shunsui's shoulder, up the back of his neck, and closed there, pressing against tight muscles and tendons so that Shunsui groaned. ".... hmmm... Yes, I'd say you're worried. Roll over."

"Cheater," Shunsui murmured, but did as he was told.

Jyuushiro's strong hands stroked down Shunsui's back. "A warrior gets whatever information is available, first."

Shunsui paused at that, because he hadn't been fair to Jyuushiro, he hadn't given him all the information there was. "When I got sent to the Academy, I was angry. I didn't see why I should leave my comfortable life here, all the people and things that gave me whatever I wanted. It seemed so stupid then, and I called them all kinds of things, said that they must really hate me, and got into a fight with Shonetsu when he said it was just what I deserved for being such a lazy git."

Jyuushiro listened, and kept rubbing Shunsui's shoulders.

"When I made my farewells then, Mom said that she hoped that by being free of this place that I'd be able to grow into my strength. She said..." He had to stop for a moment to control his voice. "She said that they were crippling me, and that she hoped she'd see my power the next time she saw me."

"Power, hm?"

Shunsui sighed into the crook of his elbow. "Yeah. I hate it when they're right."

Jyuushiro chuckled at that, and laid a kiss like a blessing between Shunsui's shoulder blades. "No one likes 'I told you so.'"

* * *

The next morning they packed, had breakfast with everyone, and then got ready to go. Breakfast had turned into a quick planning session for the next three months, as Yori and Shonetsu started a running stream of admonishments for what Shunsui should look out for and report.

Shunsui sat there, eating his grilled fish with rice and egg, munching a little seaweed, and mostly watched Jyuushiro inhale another two servings of rice and tea with a few pickled ume. He didn't really acknowledge what they were saying, but once they got started they didn't seem to need anything from him. He did, however, catch his mother's smile.

Then she fired off, "How many man can fit through the front gate at a time?"

"Four if they've drawn, six, otherwise," Shunsui replied without even thinking about it.

"And the second?"

"Only three."

"Weeks worth of water in the first moat around the castle proper?"

Shunsui squinted as he thought. "Six with the farmers. The second moat will give you another two months even if the supply from the river was cut off."

"Heating supplies?"

"In winter, the coal stockpiled for the brewers, smiths, and dyers would probably heat everything in the inner ring of walls for a month, at most."

"Where's our weak spot?"

Shunsui hesitated as he realized everyone's eyes were on him. He closed his eyes and envisioned the whole layout of the hill. "The Hatsuzora are known for their water skills, and all of our defenses depend on water. Our walls are right up against water for the most part, so anyone with a water zanpakutou could just crush new entrances, and they'd come in much faster than we'd be able to handle. If they did that on the Northern side of the outside wall, they'd have a straight shot towards the inner wall rather than the twist of the front gate.

"The Shihouin's shunpo abilities make the open top walls too easy to scale, and the cleared areas are just big enough we'd probably only see them land once before they hit the walls. So Hollows with shunpo will find that just as easy, and you'd have a hard time spotting them. The Shiba could just dig under the walls and collapse them. The Kuchiki are pretty good at shunpo as well, you might get two chances at them, but their kido skills would have fire raining down on our defenders: they'd need some kind of cover. The Ryuu..."

"They'd just fly in," said Jyuushiro thoughtfully, "though you'd be able to see them coming."

"Our weak point is our belief in the walls; they make us feel too secure in their strength, and they won't hold against enemies that are as gifted as we are."

There was nothing but silence for a long moment. Shunsui opened his eyes, and did his best not to cringe under the combined stares of all his family. His father was frowning, as he usually did when Shunsui held forth on anything, and Shunsui braced himself.

"Well done," Yori said, still frowning.

Shunsui felt his jaw drop, and he shook himself and hastily closed his mouth again. "I... uhm... I don't have any idea how to fix it, though."

"But it's better to know, than to be blind by habit," Yori said heavily. "But it is going to be a hard one to figure out."

Shunsui nodded, still bemused by his father's reaction; and then his mother reached out to touch his hand.

That was all, but that made all the difference.

When Jyuushiro and he went to collect all their things, he discussed the surprise he wanted to give his family.

The two of them met everyone else out at the main gate. The pummeling, kisses on the cheek, and hugs were the same, but they felt different now. When Shunsui faced just his family, he bowed low to his father, brother, and mother; and then, together with Jyuushiro, they flared their reiatsu to their full extent.

The crowd gasped and pressed back.

Shonetsu flared reflexively as well. His parents looked at each other, and the resultant blaze of power cleared the entire front courtyard of everyone but Jyuushiro and his family.

"Wanted a private farewell, did you?" Shonetsu asked, his tone light.

Shunsui nodded. "Yes. I couldn't have everyone know that I actually kind of like you now, brother."

They both grinned, and then came together in a rib-creaking hug, even as Shonetsu's sun-hot reiatsu wound about Shunsui.

"Take care, oh responsible one," Shunsui murmured.

"You too, you vagrant," Shonetsu said with a laugh, and there was no trace of bitterness.

Shunsui came away from the hug to give his father a respectful bow: he returned it nearly as deeply.

Miyako approached him, and as the cold edge of her power pressed against him, the howling in the back of his head awakened. Shunsui watched her approach, and no longer felt that odd dread he'd always felt before when she was actually focused on him.

She gently reached up to lay a cool hand against his cheek. "You've found your strength."

He nodded, and had to clear his throat before he could say, "You were right, mother. I would have been crippled if I'd stayed."

"I'm glad you know that, now." Miyako quirked a grin, and then moved in close to Shunsui and gave him a tight hug. He wrapped her up in a slow, strong hug in response. "Safe travels, my son."

"May you be well while I'm gone," he said quietly.

She hugged him tighter for just a second. "I miss you, but I'm glad for you."

Shunsui tightened his hug as well. "I miss you too."

They both sighed at that, and then stepped back.

"It is good to see you in your power," she said with a grin.

"And good to walk with it," Shunsui returned.

Then they all bowed and brought their reiatsu back down. Retainers crept back in, sneaking glances at Shunsui and Jyuushiro as they worked to open the huge wooden gates.

Then the two Academy students were out in the cool winter sunshine, back out on the road. They turned and headed toward the sea.


	26. The Sea Part 1

Shunsui enjoyed the long walk on the bright winter's day. The road lay in shadows while they were in the mountains, but gradually wound down the slope and onto the plains below, where it straightened and basked in sunshine.

The weather changed as the land changed around them. Snow went from drifts to patches in the shade, then to nothing at all. There was more water in the air, and a faint fog drifted among wind-twisted trees. Slopes flattened to scrub, then to farmland neatly divided into plots, and then the farms thinned to nothing as the land grew rockier and the sun moved into the West.

Jyuushiro's pace picked up as soon as they could smell the sea. Shunsui amused himself with the thought that Jyuushiro certainly wanted to get home faster than he had.

The village was smaller than the grounds around Kyouraku Castle, nearly as small as the protected bailiwick within the Castle's first walls. There were no such man-made walls here, but the rockiness of the landscape lent itself to the defenses of the village, limiting access. The houses and shacks seemed empty as they half-jogged through the village.

They found all the people at the docks.

Jyuushiro dove into the crowd, greeting folks with a grin and a wave. He neatly negotiated shining nets of wiggling fish, buckets thumped into the wooden dock, sharp-edged fishing javelins, giggling kids running underfoot, and all the equipment being carried off the fishing boats. Shunsui eyed the knife-scarred and rock-battered boats, encased in barnacles, smelling of fish guts, draped with seaweed, and sloshing with each wave, and stayed well out of the way of all the people who seemed to know what they were doing.

"Shunsui, left, go _left_," barked Jyuushiro, sudden alarm spiking his reiatsu.

Shunsui jumped left, just barely getting out from under a net of wriggling fish that landed on the dock right where he'd been standing. He looked up to see Jyuushiro relax and smile as the slender man beckoned him to come closer.

"Is it safe?" Shunsui asked cautiously.

"For the moment," Jyuushiro said, grinning. "Let's go help Akio."

They ended up next to the small boat that was rocking in the water nearest to the land. A big man was coiling rope in it; he had hair as black as Jyuushiro's eyebrows and eyes the bright blue of mountain skies. There was a woman in the boat as well, slender and strong, who nodded a greeting, but ducked when the man lifted the heavy coil of rope. Shunsui wondered how to grab it with the waves moving the boat up and down, when the rope was suddenly flung at him. Shunsui yelped, but caught it.

"Nice," Jyuushiro said, and caught a rolled net from the woman. "Put them by the lean-to to the left of the dock entrance."

Shunsui made his way to the lean-to without getting run over, though one of the smaller kids, just thigh-high, darted in front of him. The child -- Shunsui couldn't tell if it was a girl or boy -- giggled, holding a flapping fish tightly in tiny hands.

Five more trips, hauling buckets, some filled with horrible smelling things, wet and slimy line and nets, and two tubs filled with seaweed and fish. Shunsui found himself panting hard with the efforts after a long day's hike, but the boat was emptied of what had to be brought onshore. Without order or any specific organization, everyone moved in the direction of the village.

A herd of half a dozen small boys, including the fish wiggler from earlier, stampeded across the dock. One bounding boy yelled, "Big brother!" and jumped for Jyuushiro's back. Jyuushiro caught him neatly in a well-practiced motion.

Jyuushiro laughed and said, "Introduce yourself."

The boy studied Shunsui, and then nodded as if he were the prince of the family. "I'm Ukitake Haru. Who are you?"

Jyuushiro poked the skinny brown leg, "That's not polite. You're supposed to give him a chance to answer first."

Haru wrinkled his nose and stared at Shunsui. "Well, he's not answering..."

"Just call me Shunsui."

The boy giggled. "That's funny. That's not a normal name. But I kinda like it."

"Heh, at least it's not a number."

Haru laughed until he nearly fell off.

"Ha-RU, what are you doing riding Jyuushiro's back? You know you can walk on your own..." A woman said from behind them, as she moved purposefully forward and drew even.

Haru rolled his eyes, kicked free of Jyuushiro's hold on his legs, and slid down. "Aww, but I haven't seen him in so long... and he was okay with it."

Jyuushiro grinned. "Easier than picking him up. Mother, this is Kyouraku Shunsui, my guest for the week."

The bird-bright eye of Jyuushiro's tiny mother looked Shunsui over in a manner remarkably similar to how tiny Haru had studied him.

Shunsui bowed.

"Kyouraku, hm? High born." The tone did not bode well. "But you caught that net without a complaint, and hauled like the rest of us. I trust you're not going to complain about the accommodations. I'm called Ukitake Yuuna, even though I'm not particularly gentle."

She laughed and suddenly Shunsui could see where Jyuushiro's beauty had come from. She tilted her head in the direction of a tall, slender man with salt and pepper hair. "That's Shirou." And then, pointing to each in turn, she rattled off, "Masami, Kaede, Akio and his wife Hitomi, Haru you've met, Ayako, Osamu, and..." She turned her head and reached behind her to tug on a tiny foot, which kicked to a sudden gurgle. A tiny baby head popped out of what Shunsui had assumed was a bundle of cloths strapped to her back. "This is Takuma."

"Uhm... thank you, but please forgive me if I don't remember it all."

Everyone around him laughed. Yuuna grinned, "I got two of those names on the wrong kid. Don't you worry your pretty head about it."

"Pretty?" Shunsui laughed. "I think I'm going to like this place."

* * *

Shunsui watched, bemused, as the contents of all the platters at the Ukitake meal disappeared in five minutes flat.

The competition was fierce, and his own training on manners and courtesy stood him in very bad stead. A gentle-looking girl took three of the things he'd reached for, and a slender boy snagged a vegetable out of Shunsui's chopsticks. There was a clash, and Shunsui had to laugh as Jyuushiro shielded his reach for one of the fried fish.

He was pretty hungry, so he was grateful to find an unobtrusive plate piled with half of Jyuushiro's winnings at his elbow. Shunsui watched the others, and when Haru reached for that plate with his chopsticks, Shunsui cheerfully blocked the strike himself.

Haru grinned in good-natured defeat, sat back, and ate more rice.

Shunsui ate more quickly than he'd ever done before, and was still the last to finish. He was even behind baby Takuma, who gobbled mashed rice and smashed vegetables from her father's plate with gusto.

"What, you don't like the food?" Yuuna said, grinning at Shunsui.

"No, ma'am. I'm just taking the time to enjoy it," Shunsui replied, and got a laugh of satisfaction as she started to clear away all the plates.

Shunsui ended up helping the gentle-looking girl with the dishes, and found out that her name was Masami, one of Jyuushiro's two sisters; and that she was much shyer while doing dishes with a man, even with family members popping in and out, than she had been with the chopsticks at the dinner table.

After he helped put the dishes away, he found Jyuushiro in the big common room. The house, for all that it housed so many, was fairly simple. There was a great common room that was connected to the kitchen, and one bath room with the family's bath and the water and soap for bathing. The outhouse was a separate little building outside. As Jyuushiro had warned him, there was very little absolute privacy, and nearly everything was done in the common room.

Dinner had been served there, and now the family converted it to a room for crafts and common work.

Jyuushiro had most of a dry net in his lap as he worked cording through it. His father sat with a rail-thin boy in glasses at a table where an oil lamp burned, both bent over books. A tall teenager with red hair and green eyes sharpened knives. Masami sewed away at a quilt with her mother and a tiny girl in a flowered kimono that Shunsui wouldn't have thought could handle a needle so skillfully. Akio and his wife fussed over their own baby along with Takuma. There were others present too, far more than just the Ukitake clan. Faces half-familiar from the docks talked while they made cord or maintained tools.

Shunsui settled by Jyuushiro, and listened to the wash of everyday concerns. He wasn't that surprised when Jyuushiro joined the conversation with some bit of advice. He relaxed and, after watching Jyuushiro for a while, started sorting out various lengths of cord to a nod of approval and one or two gentle corrections by his roommate. When there were more yawns than words, people picked up their work, gave Jyuushiro's father a nod, and walked out into the night.

Tired from their long day, Shunsui followed Jyuushiro to the bath room, and came back to find everyone getting ready for bed.

Rolled bedding and stacked bed clothes were brought out from storage space to the sides of the room. They all stripped down, still chatting, put on sleeping gear and got onto their futons and under their quilts. Jyuushiro sat in the middle of all the smaller children's futons, and told them a story about the frog and the moon. When the last candle was blown out, Jyuushiro lay down by Shunsui. Eventually, as the room quieted and Jyuushiro's father started to snore, he felt Jyuushiro move closer. He smiled in the dark and leaned against the slender man.

As the winter night's chill drifted in through the paper walls, he felt small bodies migrate towards their warmth. First was a tiny, skinny, bony figure that could only be Haru, that clambered right between Jyuushiro and Shunsui and draped himself over both of them before turning to kick Shunsui in the stomach. Then it was a rail-thin boy, a little taller than Haru, who curled up against Shunsui's back even as others moved in against Jyuushiro.

Shunsui was not used to all the contact, but he'd slept with Jyuushiro often enough that it was easy to grow accustomed to it. After such a full day, he was able to go to sleep amused, oddly comforted, and happily warm in the midst of a pile of relaxed, snoring bodies.

* * *

Jyuushiro's birthday dawned bright and clear. He awoke wrapped about Haru, who had tucked himself up under Jyuushiro's chin. Shunsui snored softly, and Jyuushiro took the moment to study his friend while surrounded by so much that was so familiar to him.

A cock crowed at first light. The whole room stirred, and then everyone untangled themselves.

Jyuushiro laughed as Haru couldn't be held off from handing him a present wrapped carefully with a thick wrinkled piece of mulberry paper. The painted red and white cherry blossoms felt soft, worn and pale with usage and time.

He unwrapped it slowly as Haru jumped up and down. He found two origami pieces within, crumpled and squashed a little, and a drawing of a big person with white hair and a little person with short spiky black hair. Both stood on a field of blue, and he pondered it for a moment.

"We're swimming!" Haru offered. "And those are paper water balloons! If we blow them up and fill them with water, we can throw them. They go splash everywhere!"

"Aaah..." Jyuushiro said. Haru jumped into his lap and threw his arms about him. Jyuushiro grinned, and hugged the boy back warmly. "Thank you very much for the beautiful gifts. I appreciate them very much."

"Happy Birthday! I'm glad you're alive." Haru solemnly kissed Jyuushiro's nose, then hopped off his lap and ran off.

Shunsui rubbed his eyes, still sitting on his futon. "Cute."

Jyuushiro nodded. "He is."

"Is that why...?" Shunsui stopped.

"Why what?" Jyuushiro asked absentmindedly, as he blew into one of the origami balloons. It popped up into a ball, but one flap popped loose as well, and he gently tucked it back into its pocket.

"Uhm... everyone else just gets older by a year with the new year," Shunsui ventured.

Jyuushiro nodded. "Right. It was when I first got sick. No one thought I'd last the year, so Mom insisted that we celebrate on the day I was born..."

Shunsui frowned. "But here you are."

Jyuushiro grinned. "Yes. Here I am. It's been several decades; but family traditions are hard to knock after they've been celebrated for those first two years."

"I can't imagine."

"What, you don't come up with new family traditions every once in a while?"

"No. All ours are centuries old, and everyone's terrified of not doing them."

"That's..."

"Sad? Hide-bound? Stupid?"

"No... it just seems like that'd be a lot of weight to carry all the time." Jyuushiro blew at the balloon on his hand, and it flew in a wild, uneven arc.

Shunsui plucked it out of the air, and held it in his long fingers to study it. "Mm... I think you're right. I think it's one of the reasons why I worry about getting things wrong here."

Jyuushiro laughed, "You can't get it wrong, here."

"Oh. I could try."

* * *

Jyuushiro grinned on seeing Shunsui with his back up against a wall.

His sister Masami had brought along her cousins, Kyo, Aya, and Hiroko. They were all teenage girls, and they crowded about Shunsui, chattering like magpies and giggling. They were talking so fast, they didn't give Shunsui any opening to get a word in.

"Kyouraku-san, did you really give Ryuu Kameko branches of bleeding heart on bended knee just to show her you loved her?"

"Kyouraku-san, did Kobayashi-chan really slap you for kissing her after she'd asked you to?"

"Oh! Kyouraku-san, did Tanaka-chan really fall down on her knees in front of you in class and break down weeping when you broke up with her? That's sooooo romantic! Did you refuse to go back to her, just to keep the romance alive?"

"Kyouraku-san, how lovely is Takahashi-chan? She's renowned in six different Districts for her voice and grace, can you tell us what she wore for the snow-viewing party at the Hatsuzora Castle?"

"Awwww... you're so amazing... can you tell us how to kiss someone?"

"Oh! Or better yet could you please kiss me?! I'd far rather I got my first kiss from someone like you than someone as shy and unsure of himself as Oonishi-kun, he seems to break out as soon as look at me..."

Shunsui's eyes got so wide at the last one that Jyuushiro finally took pity on him. He stepped in and waved his arms at the girls as he would at chickens. "Go, go on. No kissing my guest."

They giggled, bowed politely to Shunsui, and then ran off, chattering with each other cheerfully again.

"How do they know these things?" Shunsui asked, still bemused.

Jyuushiro shrugged. "I'm not sure I want to know. Were all those things true?"

Shunsui just nodded, mutely.

"Well, why wouldn't they know, then?"

"They're just... kids!!"

"Obviously kids that want some romance in their lives, I guess."

"But..." Shunsui sputtered.

"Yes," Jyuushiro agreed with what Shunsui couldn't say. "You're far too old for them."

Which left Shunsui spluttering even harder.

* * *

The party came to life as the shortest day of the year faded into night. Paper lanterns glowed soft and warm in the cold air, and everyone bundled up in thick quilted coats. Little Haru looked like a silk ball, bouncing everywhere and chattering. "Look, Jyuushiro, _look_! You have to see this!"

There was a bonfire in the front courtyard of the house. People gathered about the warmth and light, and, as they caught sight of him, went to greet and congratulate Jyuushiro. He loved being back, being surrounded by people that cared about him. There were plenty at the Academy who cared, but it wasn't like Uncle Haru patting his head or Aunt Mai who hugged him so hard he'd cough and gave him an extra quilt for what she was sure was a drafty school dorm room.

Cousin Hiroko approached him alone, looking uncharacteristically somber without the other girls. "Cousin... happy birthday," she said and handed him a painstakingly hand-embroidered yard of red ribbon. The almost painfully neat square calligraphy read _Shield from harm_.

"What's this for?"

"To keep you from getting hurt," she said shyly. Then she surprised him by reaching up and kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank you," he said, and she blushed bright red and ran away.

Uncle Noburu walked up to natter on about how in his day the snows were deeper, the fish were scarcer, the water colder, the sky was clearer, and parents far less lenient than they were today. He also talked about how easy kids had it now, with someone that was actually willing to teach them how to cleanse Hollows rather than just going it on their own and that an academy was just a way for kids to get together and make trouble...

Jyuushiro nodded at everything Uncle Noburu said, and idly sent his reiatsu out to find Shunsui.

He'd gotten better at it. He discovered Shunsui out by the docks and the sea wall, all by himself. When Jyuushiro's reiatsu reached him, Shunsui gently touched Jyuushiro's power with his own, but remained on the wall.

Jyuushiro stayed with his guests, and gave his friend some room compared to the incessant comings and goings of all the people of his clan. Much later, as the sake barrels were broken into, and the food started rolling out of the house, Jyuushiro saw Shunsui come back, damp with sea spray but looking very content. They sat together for the meal.

Everyone exclaimed over the excellence of the meal, even as Yuuna wailed about how it was inadequate. Various members of the family came up with more and more outrageous compliments as Yuuna berated her meager skills with greater lamentations, until finally everyone was overcome with laughter.

Mochi sweets with red bean paste and dried fruit came out, and the sake flowed like water. Jyuushiro left Shunsui with the other young fishermen, as they all tried to outdrink each other.

Jyuushiro joined the ring of children and men around the firecrackers. That first birthday, they'd been used to emulate the New Years Jyuushiro wasn't supposed to see, and now they were a tradition. He helped light some of the strings, and the flash and bangs were just as fascinating as they had always been. He was careful to stay out of the acrid smoke.

"Good way to keep the bad luck away," his father said quietly as the last of the smoke blew away.

"Mmhm..."

"You goin' where there might be some bad luck to deal with?"

Jyuushiro nodded.

"Well... I'm glad that you'll have him at your back, then. The one you brought. He's different."

Jyuushiro laughed. "Yeah, when I first got to the Academy, he was out drinking every night."

"And you?"

"I was studying, of course."

"You go drinking once in a while now?"

Jyuushiro turned to look at his father, and frowned a little. "Well... yes."

"Good," his father said, stroking his chin.

Jyuushiro puzzled for a moment, and then burst out with the questions he'd been hanging onto since he'd seen the docks. "How is Kaede doing at the fish cleaning?"

"Just fine."

"And Akio with leading the fleet? They're finding fish, yes?"

"The catches this fall and winter have been good," his father said placidly.

"And Osamu's doing all right with the books?"

"Jyuushiro, he's been doing the ledgers for years before you left."

"And Masami and the cousins..."

"... have done an excellent job tending the oyster beds, the yields have been plump, sweet, and the pearl counts are solid. Jyuushiro..." Shirou's tone was exasperated.

Jyuushiro looked at his father. "What?"

He smiled and said, "We are doing fine without you, son."

Stung by the words, Jyuushiro pulled back, but his father followed him even as he drew away. "Don't take me wrong, now. We love you and we miss you, but everyone has stepped up to the roles they can now do."

Jyuushiro sighed. "But I bet Kaede still leaves his knife stuck in the cleaning trough at the docks," he grumbled.

"Yes he does, but now he's the one that has to deal with the rust when he gets back to it, so he's only doing it once a month now. You kept cleaning up after him, so he relied too much on you coming after him."

"Huh." Jyuushiro's breath huffed out of him. "Oh well, I guess when there's so many, it's easier to just do without me."

Shirou burst out laughing.

"What?"

"You look like when you were Haru's age, after we'd birthed Akio and just gotten Masami and Kaede left on our doorstep because of their reiatsu. You ran away from home, and came back two hours later to demand that we look for you."

"Humph."

"Humph, indeed. Brat."

Jyuushiro held a stiff silence for a few moments, then wrinkled his nose. "Did I really?"

"Yes."

"I guess I was a brat."

"Still are."

Jyuushiro took a moment and then nodded. "I am, aren't I?'

"And we love you anyway."

Jyuushiro laughed, then bowed gently to his father, and his father bowed as deliberately back.

Yuuna and Shunsui walked up, talking together. Yuuna was giggling like a young girl. She smiled at seeing Jyuushiro, and gave him a hug around his belly and ribs. When she had finished, she took half a step back to look at Jyuushiro. "Are they feeding you at all at that Academy of yours?"

"Plenty, mother. You wouldn't believe the dining hall at school, with all those talented kids at one table... it's amazing how much they eat!"

"And now I know why your son is the fastest eater in Seireitei," Shunsui added.

"Ha! You are? Now that's something to be proud about!"

Jyuushiro just blushed.

They all laughed.

When the party wound down, people came to give Jyuushiro their gifts.

Homemade candies, jugs of honey, spun yarn, a bundle of small clothes, a solidly made pair of geta, a few tubs of soap, a soft turtle shell comb, toothbrushes, lengths of good cloth in the Academy's uniform colors, a small bag of sea salt, a new rice bowl, handmade and beautiful, five sets of bamboo chopsticks, and several sturdy lengths of cloth for carrying things. Each present was handed over with a bow. Jyuushiro accepted each with both hands and his own bow, and unwrapped each one before the giver in order to thank to them.

Shunsui helped Jyuushiro find the little gifts he'd bought for nearly everyone in the village from Seireitei. Each time, Jyuushiro muttered a name, and Shunsui found the characters written on the paper wrappings: there were good brushes, rolls of fine paper, pipes and tobacco, tea, silk worm eggs, steel needles, sturdy hooks, and small sharp knives. Jyuushiro had skimped on his own clothing and supplies to buy them, but the generosity of the gifts he had received more than made up the difference.

Also, he enjoyed giving things that made people's eyes light up, things that most of these folks wouldn't go to the city to buy and so rarely saw here. On getting a gleaming bronze-plated pipe, Uncle Noburu was so overcome with joy he couldn't say a word, and Jyuushiro counted that well worth the price.

When the last of the guests had gone, the whole family got to the work of cleaning everything up from the party. Shunsui and Jyuushiro worked together on gathering up the dishes and cups left on the tables; and took them into the kitchen.

"Did you have a good party?" Shunsui asked.

Jyuushiro smiled. "Yes. It was good to see everyone again, gratifying to know that they care enough about what happens to me when I'm gone that they're all here to find out."

"They all do care about you, don't they?" Shunsui sounded wistful.

Jyuushiro peered at Shunsui's face, not quite able to read it in the dark. He hesitated, but knew that this had to be said too. "The thing is that none of them, I think, really understand me the way you do. They haven't faced a screaming Hollow with nothing but the edge of a blade between it and them. It's odd, because I feel so different, and yet they're all the same as they were when I left, doing the same things, worried about the same weather, and concerned about the same things that they've always been. And I've... changed. Grown, maybe, seen too many things to be comfortable here the way I used to be.

"It's odd to not fit the way I used to. To not be needed for the things I used to do."

Shunsui cocked his head. "I'm sorry?" he said tentatively.

Jyuushiro laughed. "No reason to be sorry. Now I know, even better, what I'm trying to protect."


	27. The Sea Part 2

When all was cleaned up after the party, and nearly everyone had gone back inside, Shunsui wordlessly took Jyuushiro's hand and led him out to the docks and the breakwater. Shunsui took one of the oil lamps with them, and Jyuushiro wondered what would need lighting.

The moon shone bright along their path, and when they got to the shore, it looked even larger over the dark waters. Waves broke over the moorings and hissed away, tumbling the rocks on the shore with small clicks of stone on stone. Stars spread out in a bright band over the center of the sky. When Jyuushiro could look down again from marveling at the beauty, Shunsui chuckled, and held out a scroll for Jyuushiro.

"For your birthday..."

Jyuushiro opened the scroll: Shunsui held the light for him to see to untie the strings binding it closed.

He found a painting of bamboo at night, under a full moon. The lines were austere, three stalks of varying widths, with sprays of leaves like hands. The moon was white against the dark background. There was a squiggle of poetry along the side over what Jyuushiro could now recognize as Shunsui's red signature stamp. "You've made something beautiful for me," he said reverently. "But I can't quite read the poem, and I don't want to risk accidentally burning it. Can you please tell me what it says?"

"I'll try." Shunsui took a breath. "_Slender strength bows low. Wind finds melody in leaves. Strong grove roots run deep. Rough spring waters harm none. Blue-green strength just grows._"

Jyuushiro laughed and blessed the darkness for hiding his blush. "Shunsui, that should end _Shoots drink deep to grow._ I wouldn't have my strength without you, and how can bamboo grow without water?"

Shunsui gave a low chuckle and hugged Jyuushiro.

"I like your present very much, Shunsui. Thank you."

"Thank you for accepting it, Jyuushiro. Happy Birthday."

Jyuushiro hugged Shunsui back. "You've helped make it very happy indeed."

* * *

For the next few days, Jyuushiro did his best to show Shunsui all of his childhood haunts and memories. He felt a little bit guilty about not doing the work he used to do with his family; but after his talk with his father, he realized it was all right when his family shooed them off to enjoy themselves. His mother had also gently complained about the appetite the reiatsu-gifted kids had when they were in constant contact with both Academy students.

So Jyuushiro and Shunsui practiced their sword work on flat stretches of beach, sometimes with the approving audience of Haru and Kaede. They wandered the tide pools, picked sea urchins for dinner, and watched cousins and sisters dive for oysters. Jyuushiro showed Shunsui the salt pools, the hidden orchids up on the cliffs, and together they went out fishing in one of the smaller patched sailboats.

Shunsui started out awkwardly, but he picked up the rhythm of riding in the little ship quickly, and even started lending his weight to the correct side of the little boat when Jyuushiro tacked to get a good ride into the wind. Once they were out, Jyuushiro let go of the rudder, pulled down the sail, and let them drift.

"Here." Jyuushiro handed Shunsui a pair of gloves, and when he'd put them on, a line woven with nearly a dozen hooks along the length of it. "Put a bit of bait on each of the hooks, and then let it go gently into the water."

He helped Shunsui with the first two, and then sat back to watch him do two more with fingers that quickly grew more expert. He turned to his own, and got three lines done in the time it took for Shunsui to finish his own. They hooked the loops at the top of their lines to the anchor points on the railing.

"Now, for your favorite part," Jyuushiro said with a grin.

"Hm?"

"Just waiting."

Shunsui laughed and settled into the bottom of the boat with Jyuushiro; and they both found that waiting was definitely their favorite part.

They pulled fish up and into baskets, put out lines again, and had some lunch. Mid-afternoon the wind picked up: Jyuushiro felt it in the waves and the way that the boat began to toss in the water. "We need to go in," he said.

"But the sky's clear," Shunsui protested lazily from where he lay in the bottom of the boat.

Jyuushiro pointed to the West, and Shunsui sat up to see. "Oh." The clouds massed on the horizon in a bank that billowed, huge and black, from sky to sea.

They pulled their catch in. Jyuushiro set the sail, and Shunsui crouched low. As they flew toward the docks, they could see a flock of other sails heading in the same direction.

That was when both Jyuushiro and Shunsui felt the reek of Hollow. They looked at each other, and Jyuushiro turned the little boat towards the clouds. He saw Shunsui put his hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou.

They had to tack into the wind again. The ships coming at them had no such need. With the wind at their backs, they came bouncing and jumping from roller to roller, spraying white each time they hit. They ran before the storm wind, fleeing what was behind them.

Jyuushiro growled when he saw that one of the front ships was being manned by Kaede with little Ayako, her kimono rucked up around her legs. She'd been the baby of the family before Takuma; but now here she was. It made his gut hurt to see her grin at him and wave as he went by. At least Kaede, who had some reiatsu sense, looked properly grim. He was bent over the tiller, looking as if he wanted to will the little ship faster, and he looked even more worried as he saw Jyuushiro and Shunsui coming out towards them.

"There's mermaids out there!" he screamed as they flashed past.

Jyuushiro gave him the arm sign that he'd heard, and Kaede gave him a surprised look as they went past. The differences between his brother and what Jyuushiro now was really came home to him. Shunsui and he trained in order to bring the battle to the Hollows that had haunted these waters for decades, not just live in fear of them. They could do this.

"Mermaids?" Shunsui asked.

"Yeah, they're a kind of Hollow here, from drowned souls. They resemble the living people's myths in that they take the faces of those they've eaten and don't have their own face anymore. They've been killing people for a really long time."

"What if you eat them?"

Jyuushiro blinked. "I don't think anyone's tried that."

"They'll go to dust if you laid them right, wouldn't they?"

"I hope so. I guess we're going to find out."

Sleek bodies shone dead white in the distance, curving in flashing arcs over the dark storm-clouded sea. Jyuushiro counted six, and headed towards them, feeling as if the fishing boat was a wallowing cow trying to catch swallows in flight. The Hollows began to pull even with the last of the fishing boats.

Suddenly Shunsui flared his reiatsu. Jyuushiro gasped as the power came down on him, and he flared in response. "What?"

Then he saw all six... no, seven white streaks turn to come toward them.

"Oh."

"Looks like they really are Hollows, since we're the tastier treat." Shunsui grinned and drew his zanpakutou. "Better get ready, they seem to be coming fast."

Jyuushiro sighed, as the ship lurched and the tip of Shunsui's long sword went right through the sail. Shunsui pulled the blade out, ripping the sail, as Jyuushiro dropped the tiller. When the boat came to a bobbing stop, he dropped the sail, and hurriedly lashed it down.

"Sorry about that," Shunsui muttered, eyeing the gash in the sail. "Why are we stopping?"

"They're coming to us. Might as well keep the damage to our way home as little as possible."

They both turned as intent spiked. Jyuushiro ducked as Shunsui swung, and the scream from the Hollow was pure hate and rage as the edge of Shunsui's blade struck the grotesque mask and the thing blew into dust and spume.

"They are ugly," Shunsui said.

"Better that than one that has a face," Jyuushiro said soberly as he took his stance in the bottom of the boat. He turned to face another spike of intent, and saw the streak of white under the dark water. Shunsui grunted, and abruptly turned to his left as Jyuushiro went to his right, as two sickly white bodies flew up out of the water at them, screaming.

The world narrowed to that gnarled mask of bone, and Jyuushiro used an overhand strike to cleave the mask in two. The spray of dust and sea water didn't surprise him this time.

"You all right?" Shunsui asked.

"Yeah. Got it. Watching."

They stood back to back. There were four left. Jyuushiro saw flashes of them as they circled the ship, more wary with their sisters gone. Then one of the slender white streaks headed for the little ship.

"Hells!" Jyuushiro exclaimed, as he reached out to grab Shunsui with his free hand, and stabbed his zanpakutou into the mast with the other.

The whole ship tilted hard as the Hollow hit it from underneath. His grip on Shunsui kept the big man in the boat. After the impact, they both dropped down onto the deck. Jyuushiro pulled his zanpakutou free of the mast as he went down.

Then all four of the Hollows hit the right side of the boat at the same time.

The whole boat heaved, and started to roll slowly to the left.

"Jump free of the ropes, Shunsui," Jyuushiro said, and saw Shunsui nod in the moment before the whole thing tipped and went over.

He took a deep breath and jumped, hearing Shunsui splash in alongside him. Good, he was clear. Jyuushiro dived deeper, grateful for his work clothing: it had no extra cloth for show, and kept his limbs relatively free.

Something was swimming for Shunsui's back. Jyuushiro used both hands to swing his zanpakutou through the water at it.

In the back of his head there was the flash of something silver and blue, and his sword gleamed as it cut through the water nearly as easily as through air. The edge struck the mask, and with a scream that vibrated as much against his skin as in his head, the Hollow came apart.

One Hollow circled under their feet. The other two circled around them in the water. Jyuushiro had to go to the surface for a breath of air, and he found Shunsui bobbing gently on the surface. After their escapade on the lake, he'd known the bigger man could swim, but he was relieved to find Shunsui relaxed and floating easily.

"The water's warmer than I expected," Shunsui said calmly. "What do you think they're waiting for?"

"I just cleansed one of them. Maybe they're waiting to see if we tire?"

"The storm's coming, too. Will that affect them?"

"Maybe..."

"Whoops..." Shunsui flailed and got one gulp of air before he was dragged under.

Jyuushiro took an extra second to thoroughly fill his lungs, then he went down too. One of the Hollows had her arms wrapped about Shunsui's waist as she dragged him further and further down into the depths of the water.

She had a face, a beautiful one. Shunsui hadn't struck: he was staring at her instead, and one of the other Hollows was headed for his back.

Jyuushiro swam toward Shunsui with all his strength. He was horrified to see that the mermaid coming at Shunsui's back had a girl's face, still round and soft with youth. But the tattered scales and dead white of its body, and the screaming of his zanpakutou in the back of his head, all reminded him of what he had to do.

So he did.

He struck and she melted away.

When he turned back, Shunsui was being dragged even deeper. Jyuushiro knew he was running out of air, so instead of the fast kicks he'd used earlier, he used an oyster diver's slow, big kicks to swim down. He angled for the mermaid's back, and struck her from behind so he would not have to see that face. She swirled into dust, and for a moment Shunsui looked truly sad; then he nodded to Jyuushiro and started to swim upwards. Then his eyes widened, and Jyuushiro froze mid-stroke as Shunsui threw his zanpakutou over Jyuushiro's shoulder.

Jyuushiro's lungs hurt and his head ached from the depth; but the first thing that went through his mind was, _Shunsui can't lose his sword for me._

He turned and saw the cloud of black dust, with the sword glittering in the center. It began to sink. He kicked for it, and grabbed the hilt, knowing he might not make the surface now, but trying anyway. The hilt felt warm and solid in his hand, as if he were grasping Shunsui's arm.

_Jyuushiro..._ His sword spirit sounded worried.

_No, I can make it,_ he insisted, and kicked for the surface, slow, big kicks. The world started to fade, graying out….

... and then a hand grabbed his arm and hauled him the last few feet.

"GAH!" The first lungful of air burned. A wave slapped him in the face with the next, and he spluttered.

Shunsui took his sword from Jyuushiro's grasp. "Thank you."

Jyuushiro coughed. "Uhm... sure. Couldn't... gah... couldn't leave it."

"You could have, especially since you had to save me. I'm just... grateful you didn't. Now what?"

"Oh. Turn the boat over, and get the hell out of here before the storm breaks."

"How the hell do we turn that over when we're here?"

"Oh, easy. That's what the keel line's for."

"Huh?"

"Never mind." Jyuushiro jammed his zanpakutou into its sheath. "Stay back. I'll get it over."

He grabbed the line attached to the tip of the keel, put his feet on the side of the boat, and used his weight to pull on the line. He flipped it back over. That was when the rain started pouring down. He hauled Shunsui in over the side with the simple expedience of falling back into the ship while he had Shunsui under the arms. He set Shunsui to bailing the still-wallowing ship as he put the sails back up.

His coughing grew worse, and he had to turn the tiller over to Shunsui, as he collapsed into the bottom of the little ship. He'd only managed half the sail; but that was plenty, given the storm-strength winds that were at their back. Shunsui's physical strength allowed him to hang onto the tiller, keeping the little ship weaving in the direction of the docks that they could now see in the distance.

They arrived with a crash that Jyuushiro couldn't complain about, as he was doubled up coughing.

There were voices and lots of hands. Misami held pills to his mouth, and carefully put a cup of water in his shaking hand. He swallowed the pills down with some of the water; and the coughing let up, but the shivering didn't let up at all. Shunsui half picked him up, supporting him, and when Jyuushiro saw that they were headed to the bath, he helped as best as he could.

Kaede jumped out of the tub when he saw them coming, and slipped under Jyuushiro's other arm. Together, he and Shunsui helped lift Jyuushiro into the steaming tub. The blessed heat soaked in deep, and Jyuushiro felt like he was melting. That was when he started being able to hear the rain pounding on the roof and the wind whistling outside.

Finally, he whispered, "Everyone get in?"

"Yes." It was his father's voice. "All safe and sound, Jyuushiro. You boys did very well."

"Thank you, father." And the world went away.

* * *

Jyuushiro woke with Haru curled up beside him, snoring softly. He grinned and patted the narrow back gently, and stretched. He was sore, and the bottom of each breath was tight and hard.

Haru stirred, and then his eyes popped open and he grabbed Jyuushiro to hug him.

"Hey, hey," Jyuushiro said softly. "It's all right. Everyone's safe, right?'

Haru nodded fiercely against Jyuushiro's chest.

Jyuushiro started coughing again, and Haru went and fetched him a cloth. He nodded his thanks and let himself cough up the obstruction, and then settled, gasping a little for air.

Haru curled in close. "You actually fought them. Didn't... didn't let them eat anyone."

Jyuushiro nodded. "Ayako... was out there."

"She's good in the boats, and fast with baiting the lines, now."

Jyuushiro sat back, his eyes closing. "Changes."

"Mhmm. Should I get Ayako?"

Jyuushiro shook his head. "Kaede..."

"... yeah, he takes good care of her."

Jyuushiro nodded, feeling torn again between his past and what he was now.

"I can't believe... they're gone, right?"

Jyuushiro nodded again.

"Wow. We... we don't have to worry about them the next storm either, huh?"

"I think that was the idea," Shunsui said, as he came around the screen that had been put up to block Jyuushiro's pallet from the rest of the common room. He handed Jyuushiro a cup of drinking water, and Jyuushiro took it gratefully. "It's what we're trained for, anyway."

"In the water?" Haru bounced.

Shunsui laughed, and went over to check on the pieces of their zanpakutou, laid out to dry. "No... I've... I'll have to admit I've never done a cleansing in the water before."

"Awww... but you did it."

"Yeah, we did."

Jyuushiro heard the emphasis on the _we_, and grinned tiredly. Either one of them would have died out there separately: as it was, together, they'd worked it out. His place here at home might be gone, but now he had another place where he belonged, where his strengths could be used to the utmost.

Knowing that, he saw his family and his home with different eyes, and he watched more closely.

His parents were doing less and less of the daily work. His father now practiced calligraphy on a daily basis, in addition to his duties as the village judge and records-keeper. His mother happily stayed at the house and in the kitchen and their house garden, rather than going out on any of the fishing. She used to ride with the boats, but was now content to stay at home with Takuma and Akio and Hitomi's new baby.

Akio and Hitomi made a great team on the lead ship for the small fishing fleet. Jyuushiro hadn't seen Hitomi on the water that much before: she'd just seemed like a good, quiet wife for Akio; but on the water, she was confident and capable, leaving Akio free to make the decisions while she set their ship flying across the waters.

And Kaede was beginning to grow into his reiatsu and powers. He'd found Shunsui and Kaede sparring a little in the courtyard one evening, and he'd hung back to watch.

Shunsui's power and grace made Jyuushiro's throat tight. But then he realized just how much faster Shunsui was than Kaede, even when the teenager was trying his best. Jyuushiro considered it , since he could keep up with Shunsui, whereas it was obvious that Kaede could not. It was an insight to his own abilities that he hadn't had before. In the Academy they were both considered good, but he hadn't thought that applied to outside the Academy in any real sense.

Everyone also looked at him and Shunsui a little differently after the storm. He caught some glances when they weren't supposed to be watching, and there were small gifts left on the threshold of the Ukitake home: fruit, silk ribbon wards, and good luck items like the one his cousin had given him for his birthday. His mother collected them wordlessly, and left them on Jyuushiro's bag to take back to school.

* * *

When Jyuushiro and Shunsui packed up at the end of the week, they started some of their packing the night before. All the gifts from the birthday and during the week needed places to go, and Shunsui cheerfully shared half the burden.

"I'm going to have to put those charms up at school," Jyuushiro muttered.

"Well, then I'll get half the benefit, that should be useful. We'll have the best warded dorm room with all of these."

Akio and Hitomi came over and Shunsui a bow. "We'll be out at dawn, doing a little scouting ahead of the rest of the fishing ships. While I'm sure you want an early start, I'm not sure it's going to be that early," Akio said, grinning at Shunsui.

Shunsui just laughed. Jyuushiro got pounded on the back by Akio, and he gave Hitomi and their baby a hug together.

Masami and her friends had come by earlier in the afternoon, and each of the friends had given both of the Academy boys a kiss on the cheek at Masami's insistence. By the end of the encounter everyone was blushing bright red with embarrassment, and her friends had flown off like birds.

In the morning, after the early rush and breakfast, Jyuushiro and Shunsui finished their packing and got ready to go. Jyuushiro's parents were in the kitchen with Takuma, Kaede, Ayako, and Haru when they came through, and everyone got up to see them out.

"Thank you for our stay!" Jyuushiro said.

"You're very welcome, "Jyuushiro's father said quietly. "It was good to see you and to see your friend here."

"Thank you, sir." Shunsui bowed. "It was good to meet you, too."

Yuuna, still holding Takuma, hugged Jyuushiro and then grinned and gave Shunsui a hug as well. "You put your back into it, noble boy. You're welcome back when you want."

"Thank you," Shunsui said, then went cross-eyed as Takuma grabbed his nose. The little baby girl pulled on his nose: he moved in close enough for her to suddenly latch onto it with her mouth, and chew the tip of it a few times with toothless gums, before letting him go with a crow of delight.

"You do have a way with the ladies," Kaede said, laughing. "You wouldn't believe how Kyo, Aya, and Hiroko were going on..."

Shunsui rolled his eyes. "No, I'd believe you. I just really don't want to know."

Kaede laughed again, and punched Shunsui in the shoulder. "Well. I'm envious. Maybe I should come to this Academy sometime, too, huh?"

"Hey, yeah, you should," Shunsui said.

Jyuushiro had to think about it a moment, but when Kaede looked at him he nodded. "Yes. I think you'd do very well."

Kaede laughed and hugged Jyuushiro hard. "Don't be so enthusiastic, brother! It's okay, I'll just have to deal with being in your shadow if I do, huh?"

"Hey, hey! We just got a good fish cleaner, why do you have to try and steal him?" Jyuushiro's father said ruefully.

Yunna tutted. "It'll be for everyone's good."

"You think, Mom?" Jyuushiro said wistfully.

"Yes." She gave Jyuushiro a solid hug again. "You're learning a lot, aren't you?"

"I am. But I feel..." Jyuushiro spread his hands and sighed. "I'm out of place here, now, aren't I?"

"How do you feel when you're at your school?" she asked, bright eyes gleaming.

"Good, Mom. Strong. Capable of far more than I used to be able to think I could do, even when I have the coughing attacks."

"Was it worth the lung burning?"

Jyuushiro frowned. He hadn't remembered that for quite some time. "Yes. I'm... I'm back up and doing things, now, and the more I do the better it seems to get."

"Good, then. You have a place: that it's not here is new for you, but now you have your own life, son. That's an amazing thing, compared to when we thought you wouldn't live at all. Enjoy it."

Jyuushiro sighed, "Why am I still so sad, though?"

"'Cause you miss us?" Haru piped up. The younger boy threw himself at Jyuushiro, and Jyuushiro caught him and picked him up.

Haru threw his arms around Jyuushiro's neck and hugged him tight. "We miss you, too, but I'm glad you're fighting the big monsters. They scare me."

Jyuushiro looked into the boy's face and sighed. "Yeah, they sometimes scare me too, but Shunsui and I, we'll definitely keep you safe."

Haru said softly in full formal cadence, "Thank you, very much."

It was the hardest thing in the world for Jyuushiro to let go of his youngest brother, but he finally did. Shunsui and he bowed to his family, and they bowed back. And then the two of them turned their backs to the crying of the seagulls over the crash of the surf, and headed back to the Academy.

Back to their new lives.

* * *

_**References**: I used interesting stories and references for Japanese mermaids, which are actually, mildly more like Greek mermaids, all of which are very different than modern movie mermaids. One of them was an reference for the creation of Japanese mermaid mummies, and another was through the anime/manga references for the Mermaid Saga by Takahashi Rumiko, which I read when I was far more impressionable. Mine are mildly different than either of those, but... hey, it's the __Bleach Soul Society universe, not the living world._


	28. Interlude

_**Author's Note: **There is an explicit version of this chapter posted on adultfanfiction dot net, livejournal, and y!gallery, but I rather like how this one turned out as well. _

* * *

Shunsui watched a flock of ducks flying high in the pale winter sky. The road felt hard under his feet, the air cold in his lungs, and his pack weighed against his back. He glanced at his companion and found him watching the road as they walked. They were making good time. The trip back to the Academy usually took a day and a half: they had come up from the sea, through the rolling foothills dusted in snow, through the plains, and were on the far edge of the last hills before Seireitei. The mountains loomed jagged to their east, toothed in gleaming white, clouds ripped ragged by the winds at their peaks. Their shadows grew longer and longer as the day drew to an end.

Snow gradually formed larger and larger piles by the side of the road and in the shadows of the forest. Clouds gathered overhead, the wind picked up, and snow began to fall. Shunsui's mind wrote poetry from the sound of the wind. They stopped to put on their heavier coats. As they made their way over one last hill and saw the white-walled city in the distance, the flakes thickened, falling faster against the darkening sky. The lights of the better-built Rukongai Districts clustered and thickened near the base of the wall.

The flakes fell and disappeared into the white of Jyuushiro's hair, and Shunsui couldn't help but say, "You look like some snow spirit come out to steal my breath."

Jyuushiro smiled at that. "Well, if we don't find some shelter soon, I might start thinking about it. My hands are starting to go numb."

"Mmmm… well, we're close enough to get back tomorrow if it's not too thick. I think I saw a hunters' shelter a little ways back. Do you want to just backtrack and get comfortable?"

"A hunters' shelter? How comfortable could that be? Why not enter Rukongai and find an inn for the night?"

"Because in an inn we'd be sharing the place with another dozen people, just like at the dorm or your house. I promise I'll make it comfortable enough for the two of us."

Jyuushiro tilted his head.

"What?" Shunsui asked.

"You want to be alone with me?"

"Yes. I do."

Jyuushiro squinted into the darkness. "Which way did you say the shelter was?"

Shunsui took Jyuushiro's cool, slender hand in his and tugged. Together they walked back to where he'd seen the faint trail through the winter-dark woods. They followed the barer ground of the path and found the shelter. It wasn't much: a small building just taller than their heads, the back half of which looked like it was buried in the side of a hill. When Shunsui opened the door the place smelled of earth and the mellow scent of old leaf mold, but it was warmer than out in the snow.

Jyuushiro sighed as they entered, and dropped his pack by the door. There was a low table. Thin pallet rolls rested on a high shelf so that the mice wouldn't nest in them, and there was a stack of tatami mats as well. They put a few of the mats to cover the dirt floor, before taking their shoes off.

The fire pit lay under a hole in the ceiling, faint flecks of snow drifted slowly onto bare stone. There was a small pile of dried kindling all ready in the bowl of the pit. A basket filled with dried cattail seed stems sat by the scorched stone. Shunsui broke open one of the cattails. The seed stem was filled with downy fluff. He pulled it away from the stem, and placed the cloudy pile on the stones. Shunsui dug a piece of flint from his backpack, and pulled a sharpening steel from his sword sharpening kit.

"I'll go get some of the larger firewood and snow for water." Jyuushiro picked up the heavy-duty carrying cloth, put on his shoes again, and went outside.

Shunsui struck the flint, and sparks flew into the downy tinder. He kept doing it until he saw a tendril of smoke. He picked up the smoking mass in his own hands, so that he could blow on the tiny ember without blowing the whole thing apart. It flared to life with each breath he gave it, and greedily consumed the dry fluff. As Jyuushiro went in and out, bringing more firewood and smaller branches to be dried in the heat, Shunsui tucked the handful of flaming tinder into the tent of kindling to shelter it from the gusts. He blew steadily, and the tinder caught the kindling. It flickered and took to the bigger sticks and eventually the logs, and the heat that flowed from the fire was a blessing.

"I'm glad you did that. The smoke irritates my lungs, so I'm not that practiced at making a fire," Jyuushiro said quietly. "You made it look easy, almost as if you were breathing life into it."

Jyuushiro's nose was bright red with cold from hauling in loads of firewood for the fire. He held his slender hands out to the light and heat.

Shunsui smiled at Jyuushiro and made room for him by the fire. "It is easy when I think of it that way. Keeping the spark alive, breathing for it, feeding it until it's big enough to take to the fuel on its own, it's easier to anticipate what it needs when I think of the fire itself as something alive."

They took their coats off, spreading them over the futons. Shunsui eyed the water level in the pot Jyuushiro had filled earlier, picked up a holding cloth, and ducked out into the cold to fill it with clean snow. He used his hands to shovel snow into the cloth, and he was shivering by the time he got back into the warmth. He poured the snow into the cast iron pot, hearing it hiss as it touched the walls. The snow quickly shrank, so he went to get another load.

Jyuushiro lounged before the fire, using his pack as a backrest. Shunsui added the last load of snow, and they waited until the water had boiled for a while before they poured some of it off for tea and other uses. The rice boiled in one pot, salted fish was washed and then put on a stick to roast before the fire, and dried fruit and seaweed became fine side dishes. They fell to their impromptu meal.

Afterward, Shunsui sprawled content in the warm hut, while Jyuushiro put on his coat and went out for more wood. He was half asleep before Jyuushiro came back in, bringing a cloud of cold with him along with an armload of wood that he stacked neatly by the fire.

The coat went back on the bed, and Jyuushiro surprised Shunsui by settling against the length of Shunsui's body. The chill on Jyuushiro's skin made Shunsui shiver, but instead of protesting or pushing him away, Shunsui pulled his cold friend even closer and was please to hear a quiet sound of pleasure as Jyuushiro moved to fit against him.

Shunsui sighed in contentment and felt Jyuushiro's stiff tension slowly melt away.

"Mmm… I'm going to fall asleep if we stay like this," Jyuushiro mumbled. Shunsui felt warm breath against his skin with each word.

"Might be a bit uncomfortable in the morning," Shunsui conceded. "Want to get ready for bed?"

"Mmhm."

But neither of them moved.

Eventually Jyuushiro stirred. A fleeting touch of his lips against Shunsui's throat might have been wishful thinking. "What did you think of my family?"

"Big." Shunsui paused closing his eyes at the feelings that came through him. "Capable. Thoughtful. Practical."

"Mmm… would you say they were loving?"

Shunsui didn't hesitate. "Yes. Supportive, too. Not like my family."

There was a long silence, and then Jyuushiro said quietly. "I think your family loves you, too."

"Ha," Shunsui said. "Mom, yeah, I think I could believe she loves me, even as scary as she can be; but Shonetsu and Dad? They're more about what I can do than who I am. They're as likely to beat the heck out of me as hug me, I can't image them actually loving me."

Jyuushiro simply rubbed his face gently against Shunsui's throat, which thickened at the motion. Shunsui suddenly found it hard to breath.

"I asked you before what you thought love was. I guess now I know that you think of it as a feeling. Hm?"

"Of course it's a feeling. And if it's true love…"

"… if it's true love, it floods out all other feelings?"

"Right. Someone that really loved me wouldn't ever beat the tar out of me, wouldn't tell me every little thing I'd done wrong. A real lover forgives and forgets and loves me no matter what I do, they just love me for who I am… all of it." Shunsui had to laugh. "Which is probably why no one ever really ends up loving me, and why my love never seems to last. Sometimes it seems impossible."

Jyuushiro stirred, hugged Shunsui, and got up to put two more pieces of wood on the fire.

"So you don't think I love you?" Jyuushiro asked, as he settled in against Shunsui again.

Shunsui snorted, even as he put his arm around Jyuushiro, enjoying the warmth and the closeness they had together. "You put three inches of steel into my shoulder. I hate it when you tell me what's wrong with me, but the good thing is that you don't rub it in. You let me take care of it when I can. You're a great friend, not a fawning lover."

He hadn't expected the quiet chuckle. "Well, you're right there."

"And I really don't think you'd ever go crazy over me, either," Shunsui said thoughtfully, his fingers playing gently with the silken white locks of Jyuushiro's hair. "I mean… I bet you don't feel like you'd go insane without having me touch you all the time, or that your day would be ruined if you couldn't see me."

The snort was reassuring. "Of course not."

"Good. I'd hate it if you were in love with me."

"Oh, but I am," Jyuushiro said matter-of-factly.

Shunsui stilled. "What? You just got done telling me how you're not in love with me."

"No. I just said that I wasn't insane about you, that I could and would do fine without you, and that I'm never going to tell you a lie simply to please your vanity."

"My vanity?" Shunsui blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not going to always agree with you, Shunsui. You know that."

"Of course! We'd be useless if you always did."

"That was part of your definition of love, Shunsui. But I don't think that always agreeing is loving someone. That's just lazy."

"But I'm good at lazy," Shunsui said defensively.

He felt the body in his arm start shaking before the laughter spilled out into the room. "You are, Shunsui. You are."

Shunsui sat there, bewildered. "What are we talking about, Jyuushiro?"

"Love, Shunsui. My definition of love."

"You have a definition?"

Jyuushiro's muscles shifted against his. "Yes."

"That makes no sense. Love is… love. It's a mystery, not an equation."

"I find it to be straightforward. Loving someone is an act, a doing, not just the feeling. Feelings come and go, as you've experienced, but the resolve to do the loving thing can be as constant as the person involved."

Shunsui thought about it and wrinkled his nose. "That's weird."

The chuckle was unmistakable. "I guess it could seem so. Let me test it."

Shunsui's eyes went wide with surprise when he felt Jyuushiro's lips kiss his throat, slowly, deliberately with the faintest soft, wet touch of his tongue. Shunsui tightened his hold on the muscular arm under his hand. The hard edge of teeth closed slowly against Shunsui's pulse, and his breath went ragged at the sensation, his libido burning hot and high. He felt strong hands tugging at the knot of his obi, opening the belt and his robes, and cold, smooth, slender fingers ran along his belly, down to his hip, and then up against his chest.

"Jyuushiro, what…" Shunsui gasped as that touch moved firmly up his body.

"Doing, Shunsui. I'm doing."

Shunsui shivered again, this time anything but cold, as Jyuushiro laid a path of kisses up his front. He slid the fingers of his right hand into white hair as the slender man worked his way up Shunsui's throat again, and then those firm, cool lips were on his. His mouth was sweet and his skin smelled of wood smoke.

Hunger and quick desire for the lithe, strong man in his arms burned through Shunsui as quickly as the tiny lick of flame had burned into its bed of fluff. The strength of the feeling surprised him. They kissed hard and hungry for each other, strength against strength. The fine stubble on Jyuushiro's jaw was soft against Shunsui's hand when he rubbed one way and rough when stroked the other.

They broke the kiss, breathing hard, and Shunsui looked up to see eyes turned the color of dark jade in the flickering shadows from the fire. Both their arousals were obvious, pressed as they were between them.

"It's like my dream," Shunsui whispered.

"It is, hm?" Jyuushiro said with a smile. "The field of flowers and the grave?"

Shunsui nodded, reaching up to stroke again along Jyuushiro's jaw.

Jyuushiro's eyes closed, and he rubbed his cheek into that hand and then turned to place a soft kiss against Shunsui's palm. "What did I make you do again?"

"You didn't make me do anything: you simply made me whole."

He saw Jyuushiro's eyes widen at that, and when the kiss came this time Jyuushiro was tender, so slow and warm and sweet, he found himself shaken and on the edge of tears at the end of it.

"How can you care so much for me?" he whispered. "Why do you give a shit when I'm… I'm so…"

"So which?" Jyuushiro asked softly.

Shunsui swallowed the words that rose to his lips on reflex. Scattered, wasted, aimless… they were old words, old ways, things he'd always taken for granted. He stared up into green eyes and realized that those eyes didn't see any of that, not any more. Through those eyes he might be able to learn how to see himself that way too.

He closed his eyes on that thought, turning away for a moment.

Then he said very softly to the dirt wall. "Believing in your love is like having to believe in myself."

He heard the soft draw of Jyuushiro's breath. A touch ran up his jaw, turning his face up to see Jyuushiro studying him quietly. "That hard, huh?"

Shunsui stared at Jyuushiro.

Jyuushiro kept watching him. "What?"

"How the hell can you just accept that?"

"What could I do about it?"

"Nothing."

"Then there's nothing to be gained by fighting it. You'll figure it out, and it's not like you've ever had any illusions about having to be in love with me to enjoy being with me." Jyuushiro settled his weight back on Shunsui, nuzzling quietly against his shoulder.

Shunsui grinned a little lopsidedly at that, his arms closing about Jyuushiro again. "Well, that's true. You're just so comfortable to be with. I've never had to worry about treating you more gently because you were in love with me, though."

"You'd better not." The tone was dry. "You're the best sparring partner I've got and it's not because you're easy on me."

Shunsui laughed, relaxing. "Well, that's true. Ever since that trial, I don't think I've dared underestimate you."

"Good. If that's what it took, then I'm glad of my stripes."

Shunsui shook his head, and his hands gently stroked one of Jyuushiro's shoulders. "I still can't quite forgive myself for having gotten you into that."

"Shunsui…" Jyuushiro levered himself up. This time, rather than just lean there, he got all the way up and straddled Shunsui's hips. "Look. You heard Yamamoto-sama, no? I got to choose. I chose to do that. It's not your fault and there's nothing to forgive."

"But if I hadn't been such a fuck up…"

"… I'd have never gotten to really know you. Never found out how strong I really could be. Never figured out that you're my brother in arms, someone that I could not only take care of and be responsible for, but someone that I could actually rely on, depend upon for strengths that I don't have."

Shunsui lay there, working that through. Finally he sighed and said, "You win."

"I… What?"

"Win. Will you forgive me for what I did?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." Shunsui found that he was shaking for no reason he could figure out.

"Shunsui… are you all right?"

Shunsui sat up and felt Jyuushiro's arms wrap about him. He nodded against Jyuushiro's chest. "Yeah, I think I am. Finally… I think I am."

When Jyuushiro tilted his head up to kiss him, Shunsui finally didn't have to hold anything back.

* * *

They slept comfortably the rest of the night through in that hut in the woods.

Jyuushiro was the first to awaken, hearing the call of a rooster in the far distance, and seeing the light coming through the hole in the roof. He lay in the warmth under their blankets and coats, snuggled up to Shunsui's strength: his nose was tickled by chest hairs, and a solid arm was curled possessively about his body. The bigger man had made no declarations of love, but Jyuushiro realized that he didn't have to: what Shunsui had done was enough.

Both in the giving and the receiving, trust given for trust, touch for touch, Shunsui had done what Jyuushiro would consider the loving things, taking care of him and accepting Jyuushiro's advances with a trust that still shook his own heart when he thought about it.

Words were easy, and Jyuushiro now understood, a little better, why Shunsui couldn't and wouldn't trust them with him.

They weren't infatuated with each other, there were no masks or lies between them, nothing where they had to appear better, stronger, faster, smarter, or more than they were. They'd seen each other through both thick and thin, good and bad, and each knew and accepted the other for all they were. That should be more than enough.

But Shunsui's admittance that Jyuushiro had won the night before still bothered him: it had felt like there was more behind that than just winning that one argument. More than just the admittance that Jyuushiro might have known what he might win by choosing to take the punishment with Shunsui. Something besides Shunsui admitting that he might have gotten much stronger in the time since.

As the light grew brighter, and Jyuushiro's thoughts wound about themselves in the half-doze before awakening, Shunsui's arm about him twitched, and when Jyuushiro glanced up he saw Shunsui's eyes were moving behind his closed eyelids. Dreaming again.

Remembering the nightmare Shunsui had woken up from before, Jyuushiro gently wrapped his reiatsu about his bed partner, lightly touching Shunsui's sides and chest. Those brown eyes flew open and Shunsui gasped, pulling a huge breath in, and then crushed Jyuushiro to him. "You're alive..." he whispered.

"Aye, I am... you were dreaming?"

Shunsui shook his head. "Nightmare... you... we..." The big body shivered all along his long length. "Never mind. I don't want to talk about it. You're here. You're alive. I... that's good enough."

Held that close to his friend and lover's heart, Jyuushiro had to agree that yes, that was good enough.


	29. Duel Offered

Jyuushiro took a week to recover from the winter testing for his disease. Shunsui had gone in with him, and simply shrugged at the knowing look Kiyoko had given them both. His friends made sure he had all the things he needed: homework, company, food, good-natured ribbing, and anyone he wanted to work against in regaining his strength.

"Yargh!!" Jyuushiro yelped as the snowball went down the back of his coat.

The gales of giggles from Yoruichi and Kuukaku made him grin, even as he saw Shunsui bounce against the bamboo next to the girls. A small avalanche of snow dropped toward them. A blast of wind kidou blew the cascade of snow to the side. The lumps hit Kenshin, who was securely on the ground, and knocked him sideways into a drift to much muffled swearing.

"Tessai! Our hero!!" the girls chorused. Kuukaku tumbled toward Tessai and his snow shelter, while Yoruichi flash-stepped up onto the branches of the bamboo.

Tessai pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and blushed fire-red. The snow from Kenshin's return volley made him duck back into his shelter with Kuukaku. The big boy was fitting in well into Yoruichi-chan's household, especially after she'd also brought in Kisuke and his father to be her companions.

Jyuushiro bit back his laughter with a cough, and carefully put together a freezing kidou before loosing it against the shelter. It coated the whole structure in a thick layer of ice. "That should hold you for a bit."

"Hey!! That's my man!" Yoruichi had completely lost her formal speech patterns against the Academy students. She flung herself through the air, feet first, at the hard shell. She bounced off with a thud and rolled away in a tightly controlled tumble.

That was when the iced structure exploded. Shards of shattered ice went everywhere.

"What the hell?" Kenshin waded toward the structure looking worried.

The shining disk of a quick seki kidou glowed in the midst of the destruction. Behind it a nervous looking Kuukaku, Kisuke, and Tessai peered out, unscathed.

Kenshin roared like a bull and charged in.

"You idiots! You could have killed yourselves! And where the heck did you get explosives like that?"

The kids scattered, with Kuukaku shrieking with laughter. Firecrackers peppered the air, and snow slid from higher branches, falling with soft plops all about them.

Hayato was sitting this one out, perched on a bench next to Daisuke-san. In the house was Daisuke-san's housekeeper, who disliked going out among the high and mighty of Seireitei, so most of the Tactics and Strategy team had come now and again to keep the older man company when he wanted to go out. All of them were now as familiar with his house and gardens as their own living quarters.

Most of the other gardens were dead this time of year, but Daisuke-san had chosen a good deal of bamboo for his garden. The evergreen grasses were an oasis of life amid black-limbed trees, bare hillocks of empty flower beds, and pure white snow, and they made a natural privacy fence. He had lent his garden for their play when he found out that they needed a place. The older man sat back and watched, listening to Hayato with half an ear. There were jugs of hot soy milk, sake, and tea sitting on a table near them.

Jyuushiro went back to the snowball fight, wondering where Shunsui might be.

He was distracted by a bombing run by both Kali and Kaoru, who jumped from slender branch to slender branch, the tops of the bamboo swaying wildly with their weight as they dropped snow on the kids. Tessai hid Kuukaku under another kidou shield, and Yoruichi gave a wild yell as she leaped up even further and started dancing across the swaying tops, letting the spring action of the bamboo stalks themselves fling the snow in all directions. Having the older students to goad her into greater things had improved her capabilities by leaps and bounds. Literally.

"You're getting me more than them!" Kisuke complained half-heartedly, from under a cap of snow on his blond mop of hair.

"You should get a hat!" Yoruichi said, laughing, as more snow rained down on everyone, young and old alike.

Kisuke growled and ducked under Tessai's shield.

Jyuushiro shook his head. That was when Shunsui, sitting cross-legged at the top of a clump of bamboo, started pelting Yoruichi with snowballs.

She yelped, lost her footing, and, with a flip and somersault, she found it again a few branches down; but now she was in range of Kali and Kaoru, and they took advantage. Yoruichi tumbled again, using bursts of shunpo against the branches to slow her fall before she rolled into a snowbank.

"Fmmph," she spat as she came out of the fluffy whiteness. Then she crowed, "They never let me do that at home!"

Everyone laughed. Jyuushiro knew his laughter was as much from relief as anything. It would not do for the heir of Shihouin to break her neck in the middle of a snowball fight.

"Hey, who's that?" Shunsui called from above.

"Who's what?" asked Jyuushiro from the ground.

"Someone came in through the side gate, not the front door." Shunsui's tone held warning in it, and everyone came to alert.

So it surprised no one when the man in the gold and blues of Hatsuzora strode into the clearing. The man made a picture-perfect warrior. His shining black hair rode in a perfect queue, his robes hung immaculate, his face was as handsome as some statue, and his eyes were black. His equipment was in perfect order, the scabbard bright against the darks of his kimono. He stopped in his tracks, hand going to his hilt, as he was suddenly confronted by so many.

All of the Tactics and Strategy class moved their hands to their hilts. Kenshin growled and flash-stepped between the stranger and the rest of the kids. Two ninja bodyguards appeared and flanked Yoruichi.

"Who are you lot?" the man demanded, frowning fiercely. "I am here to deliver a formal challenge to one Uekiya Daisuke."

Daisuke-san stood up. "That would be me. These are my students. Leave them be."

The man snorted. "As if they could cause me trouble."

Jyuushiro heard Yoruichi hmph. As if of one mind, everyone in the glade brought their intent to bear on the stranger. Reiatsu flared, pouring in and spilling throughout the compound. The man staggered.

"Stop," Daisuke-san commanded. They all dropped their power. "Sorry. Kids," he said quietly, and offered the man a bow with his apology.

The man snorted, his nostrils looking white and pinched. "They are nobles. You are not, except by association. I expect you will be easier than they are. I am here to challenge you, one on one, in formal duel. They will do as witnesses."

Daisuke-san stilled. "Why have you done me the discourtesy of not introducing yourself?"

The man shrugged. "They interrupted. I am Sato Takumi and I am here to kill you."

Kenshin gaped.

"Why in the world are you going after Daisuke-san?" Shunsui's tone was lazy, quiet, with none of the fear and tension that made Jyuushiro's palms sweat.

"I was insulted by his inclusion in the viewing of the full moon in the Itsutsuki Compound, and wish to redress that wrong."

Shunsui laughed and jumped from the top of the bamboo to the snow, landing lightly. "Bullshit. You're here because without him Yamamoto-sama would be half-crippled in Rukongai, and you want to stop the inclusion of commoners in the school and the fighting forces Yamamoto-sama is creating."

"What is that to you, boy? You're noble. You should be helping me, not challenging me."

Shunsui snorted and shook his head. "And here I am thinking Daisuke-san is worth a dozen of you."

"Be careful, or I might take insult of you as well, Kyouraku-kun." Sato's eyes narrowed, watching the student carefully.

Shunsui rubbed the back of his neck ruefully. "Well... if I thought Daisuke-san would leave anything of you, I'd help that impression along some more... but... at least wait until we get the kids out of here?"

Jyuushiro was already taking advantage of the distraction Shunsui provided, and started moving the kids off to Daisuke-san's house. Kenshin followed when Kuukaku clung to him. Yoruichi hesitated long enough to make Jyuushiro anxious, but then turned to go with them, her bodyguards following her into the relative safety of the small house.

Everyone paused at the sudden flare of Daisuke-san's grass-green reiatsu and a reiatsu that tasted of the first spears of dawn light. Kenshin and Jyuushiro sprinted back out.

From what Kenshin had said at the previous snowball fight, Sato Takumi was known as a first-draw specialist, faster than any other in Soul Society on that first cut. But incredibly, Daisuke-san was not only on his feet and alive, but there was a deep cut across Sato's right side. Steam rose from the fan of blood across the white snow. Sato still stood, legs wide, sword at the ready, watching Daisuke-san pace just beyond his reach.

"We can call it now. First blood has been spilled: there is no shame in taking you to the infirmary now," Daisuke-san said, persuasively.

"No. Face me, you low-born scum. You have no place in the ruling of Soul Society."

"I don't _want _a place in ruling Soul Society, you idiot. I just want to defend it. Hell, I want to defend you, why won't you let me do that?"

"Because strength should dictate rule." Sato's voice was reflective. "Every Clan leader has gotten their right through the death of those that opposed them. Why would you be any different?"

"Because I'm not part of any brain-forsaken Clan?"

A short laugh brought blood up to Sato's lips. "So you will bring us all down." He shook his head, more blood flying into the snow. "Come. Let us finish this before I cannot fight anymore."

"Let him bleed out," Shunsui said grimly. "Why the hell should you risk yourself for his pride?"

"Because he is fighting solely for his pride, Kyouraku-kun. That is worth honoring, as you may find some day."

Daisuke-san relaxed, and shifted so that his right side faced Sato, his arm and blade back, hand nearly at his left hip. When he took a step toward Sato, Sato blurred into motion toward him. Jyuushiro saw Daisuke-san just fall to his right, looking nearly clumsy in the face of Sato's smooth speed, but then he lunged so that he was just past the arch of Sato's draw and blade. His zanpakutou's edge went up into Sato's body with a meaty thunk that made Jyuushiro close his eyes.

A harsh grunt was wrung out of Sato with the blow, followed by his slow collapse onto the snow, blood spreading from him.

Daisuke-san growled softly, and now Jyuushiro could see that the stocky man was shaking as he approached his now still opponent.

"Ah, kami of earth and blood," Daisuke-san swore softly. "Do you wish a swift sending?"

To Jyuushiro's horror, there was a twitch of Sato's head, an assent. Daisuke-san gathered himself and brought his blade down on Sato's bared neck.

* * *

"You should go with them, Jyuushiro. You're more respectable. With two nobles to back you up, there should be no questions," Shunsui said quietly. Jyuushiro looked at him uncertainly. "Besides, Kenshin and I promised the parents to get their kids home okay, and we can clean up the body here more easily: we're bigger than the three of you combined."

Hayato laughed at that as Kaoru rolled his eyes.

Jyuushiro coughed discreetly into an already bloody cloth. "And you probably want me back at the infirmary sooner rather than later?"

Shunsui shrugged. Jyuushiro had only been released for the play time, not to go back to training, so the answer was obvious for both of them. "Well, that and you didn't end up drunk in that jail for three months running."

Jyuushiro chuckled and bowed gently to him, and left with the others.

Kenshin was uncharacteristically silent, looking downcast. Shunsui had expected to get punched in the shoulder for treating Jyuushiro like a wife or something.

Shunsui and Kenshin went back into the house and gathered up the kids to take them home. Yoruichi and Kuukaku were huddled together, though Shunsui could see that that the Shihouin heir's golden eyes were clear and untroubled even as she held Kuukaku. They had a long hug good-bye, and Kuukaku left on Kenshin's back.

Yoruichi, Tessai, and Kisuke went with Shunsui. Within fifty feet Shunsui couldn't stand the silence anymore, and he asked, "What are you all doing for New Years?"

Tessai and Kisuke looked at him like he was crazy.

Yoruichi gave a small smile. "Well, my clan is gathering the way it usually does, and everyone that is closely related to the family will be in the compound for three days. Two days beforehand to clean everything up and out, and then the one after to celebrate."

"Are... will we be invited too?" Kisuke asked, looking more at the ground than at Yoruichi.

"Of course!" she said. "You're part of my family now."

"Drat!" Kisuke said, looking up with a smile edging his eyes. "I hate getting dressed up and having to sit at that table for hours on end."

Yoruichi threw her head back in laughter. "Me too! Me too! Can you adopt me instead?"

"I wish." Kisuke kicked a clod of snow, sending a tiny avalanche down the side of the bank. "Oh well, I guess we'll just all have to get all stiff and stuff. Do they at least let you out on the rooftop to see the sunrise on the New Year and make your wish?"

Yoruichi jumped to the top of a stone fence, balancing neatly on the moving stones. "This year they will."

"What do you mean?" Tessai asked in surprise.

"I mean that since I never knew people did that, I want to do it now." Yoruichi delicately paced along the last few wobbly stones, then jumped back to the road with a grin. "And you can do it with me!"

Kisuke grinned, and when he saw Shunsui looking at him, he gave the Academy student a wink.

The other two were nonplussed when Shunsui burst out in laughter.

* * *

The body had stiffened while they were gone. Shunsui found Kenshin on his haunches studying it with a morose expression.

Shunsui suddenly realized that his experience in the graves of the Shihouin troop had changed how he regarded death, and he wondered if Kenshin had undergone a similar experience with the Kuchiki clan.

Kenshin glanced up as Shunsui came into the grove and frowned. "Should we leave this for the Academy guard?" he asked. "They'll want to see what happened."

Shunsui nodded. "I guess they should look it over before we do anything." He stood back, and then settled in the same bench Daisuke-san and Hayato had been in earlier, and sighed.

"What?" Kenshin asked.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything," Shunsui said quietly, and just waited.

"Oh." Kenshin sat back on his heels and started chewing on his thumbnail. The wind softly sighed through the leaves and the bamboo swayed about them.

Kenshin spat. "I didn't... I didn't think he'd die so easily."

Shunsui contemplated the statement quietly, and met Kenshin's eyes when the other man looked up. "Why?" he asked. "I saw quite a few people die with remarkable ease during the patrol."

Kenshin grunted in discomfort and frowned. "But this... he was supposed to be one of the finest duelists in Soul Society. The best of the best."

"And Daisuke-san felled him like some ox in a barnyard, hm?"

Kenshin spat again.

"How many people do you think Sato killed?" Shunsui asked quietly.

"Well, his record had twenty-three wins before today. All declared, witnessed, and set to record."

"How many people do you think Daisuke-san killed before he even died?"

Kenshin blinked at that.

"He was in more wars than he could even count. He's been hunting Hollows since. I wonder how many he's cleansed, how many have tried to kill him without fancy declarations or witnesses. Fights where there was no prize other than whether or not you're standing at the end of it." Shunsui closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "I wonder what that does to your fighting style. I think it might be something we nobles, no matter what our power, shouldn't disregard."

There was a long silence, that was finally broken by the voices and heavy footsteps of guardsmen. Shunsui relaxed when he heard Daisuke-san's voice among them. So he hadn't been locked up. With his need to have company that could have proven problematic, though Shunsui would have been the first to volunteer his company. He, at least, was used to sleeping in a jail cell.

Kenshin stood up and went over to Shunsui to give him a hand up as well. "I hadn't thought of that. Guess I'm glad he's teaching us, then, instead of fighting us."

Now it was Shunsui's turn to be surprised. He'd never thought of Daisuke-san or Yamamoto being against them. He narrowed his eyes at Kenshin, who looked away from him as the others trooped in.

Who the hell was putting ideas in Kenshin's head about fighting their teachers?

* * *

The moon waned with the passing of the last days of the year, and the weather warmed. All the snow disappeared like magic in a Western wind. Jyuushiro enjoyed the growing sun, even if it still flew low over the horizon.

New Years was quiet around the Academy. Many students went to nearby homes. The rest of the Tactics and Strategy class went to their homes and compounds within Seireitei as the various Clans did their shut-in to prepare for the new year. Jyuushiro had cleaned up his part of their room in anticipation, and was amused to find that Shunsui didn't believe in that, and simply left his part of the room as it always was.

Jyuushiro watched Shunsui toss invitation after invitation in the trash. Some of them smelled like jasmine or chrysanthemum, honeysuckle or gardenia, while others had the bright red seals of the various Clans.

Jyuushiro laughed. "Whatever you have planned has to be good."

Shunsui chuckled and sat back. "I haven't planned anything. I was going to start the new year the way I intend to keep it, which is to do nothing I don't want to do. What are you doing?"

"I don't know, either."

"Well, I half-promised Kisuke I'd do one thing, but the rest is just going to just have to happen."

"What is that one thing?" Jyuushiro asked curiously, wondering what could have been promised to that child.

Shunsui smiled at Jyuushiro. "I guess you'll just have stay with me to find out."

Jyuushiro had no idea Shunsui had a kimono the orange-red of a spectacular sunset with clouds along the lower hem, nor had he realized just how good Shunsui would look in such a flamboyant garment. Jyuushiro had dressed in layers of moss-green kimono, with the outermost one decorated with a wave motif that he was certain Aunt Mai had painstakingly added.

Together they turned heads, as they walked to the main shopping square in the city. There the local shopkeepers had set up a small fair of their own, lining the streets with booths where food sizzled, drink was poured, fortunes told, games were offered, and small trinkets could be bought. Red paper lanterns lighted the main road, zigzagging in brilliant array.

Jyuushiro happily sampled the takoyaki, crisp on the outside, chewy and tender on the inside, with a sweet brown sauce on top. Shunsui got a bowl of udon, slurping up the thick noodles eagerly before returning the bowl and chopsticks to the stand owner. One bench, covered with layers and layers of bamboo steamer trays filled with white chukaman, lured Jyuushiro closer.

"Sweet or salty?" he asked.

"Nikuman," the vendor answered.

He glanced at Shunsui who held up two fingers. "Four then," Jyuushiro said, and bought four of the pork-filled steamed buns. He handed two of the hot breads to Shunsui, and he ate and juggled his own two as they walked on.

They stopped by a tub of goldfish with a vendor saying, "One copper. One copper for as many fish as you can scoop up yourself!"

Shunsui tied up his sleeves. The large bamboo-based scoop made him laugh, and, as expected, it pushed the water about so thoroughly that the fish simply slid to the sides. Jyuushiro watched, fascinated, as Shunsui tossed the vendor a second coin. This time, he put the scoop in so slowly and gently that the fish never even knew it had changed locations when Shunsui pulled it out.

"I imagine Daisuke-san's pond could use a few fish," Jyuushiro said calmly. The vendor huffed, but poured the goldfish into half a section of bamboo for them to take with them.

There was plenty more to see. Scrolls of poetry, bolts of cloth for new outfits for the new year, bits of jewelry, cards, and flower arrangements. A gentle-faced old lady with handfuls of yarrow sticks smiled at the two of them.

"Let's do a reading for the new year," Shunsui said, pushing Jyuushiro gently toward the table.

"I don't have the money for..."

Shunsui pulled gold from his sleeve, and Jyuushiro shut up.

The lady cocked her head at the show of money and tsk'ed softly. "That is far too much, young scion. Of all things truth is worth less when given wealth than when earned through poverty."

Both of them blinked at her. Then Shunsui laughed, and sat seiza on the cushions she had set up on the customer side of the table. Jyuushiro settled on his knees next to him.

"What do we do?" Shunsui asked, watching the woman's movements closely.

"What is your question?" she asked, pulling out the bundle of sticks and clearing the table before her.

They looked at each other.

"Uhm." Jyuushiro hesitated as both of them looked at him, but then he plowed ahead. "I am wondering what the new year will bring. We're both Academy students, the first of Yamamoto-sama's classes, and I wonder how we and the Academy will do."

Shunsui chuckled. "I'm more interested in what's going to happen to me in the coming year, less about the other stuff. There's... it feels like too much to tackle."

The lady nodded. "So for both of you, you simply wish to see the shape of the coming year. Nothing about some girl or how your homework assignment will go?"

Shunsui burst out laughing.

Jyuushiro grinned. "Well, I wouldn't mind knowing how that kidou lab experiment will go."

At the arch look from the lady, Jyuushiro laughed and shook his head. "No, not really, I'm more interested in the bigger stuff."

She nodded and picked out one stick from all those in her hand, and then scattered the remainder before her. She divided them into two groups. Quick as a bird she went through an elaborate process of sorting, discarding, and grouping the sticks. She ended up with nine sticks that she put aside.

She went through the whole process again, and then one more time, ending up with three bundles that she quickly counted.

Then she put all the sticks together and did it all two more times. During the long process of sorting and counting Jyuushiro relaxed, just watching her deft motions and thinking about all that they had learned already. Whatever was to come should build on that, use it. He felt his zanpakutou spirit stir with mild curiosity as to what was going on.

"Ah... the qualities of youth," she sighed when she was done. "Only one of your lines is old, about to change, the other two are still young and vigorous."

"Hm?"

"Here... see." She drew the lines from the bottom up, five solid ones and then one broken one at the top. "You two have gotten Tui, the Joyous, or the Lake on top, and Ch'ien, the Creative, or Heaven underneath. It is an odd upside-down situation which has to change to be resolved. Together they create Kuai, the Breakthrough, like a thunderstorm, a deluge. Tension and power has built to the point where it must be released. In human situations, this indicates that those in power are on the wane, dying like the moon. A resolute action, taken soon, will wash the culpable away."

Both of the boys looked at each other, eyes very wide indeed.

She looked at both of them and laughed softly. "What does that mean to you?"

"I... uhm...." Jyuushiro couldn't help but see Sato falling in a welter of blood, and he saw Shunsui's lips tighten as well.

Shunsui sat back, visibly relaxed, then grinned at Jyuushiro before dropping one eyelid in a quick wink. "Does that mean you'll let me break into you in the coming year?"

Jyuushiro felt his cheeks flood hot, even as he saw the woman fortuneteller flinch at the sheer boorishness; but he also realized that with that single stroke, Shunsui had made it impossible for her to think of anything else.

He jumped to his feet and stalked off. He heard coins ringing on the table before quick footsteps followed him. He considered stopping and just hitting Shunsui, but then whipped around a corner into an alley between two shops.

The footsteps followed him, then hesitated before getting within his distance.

"Hey..." The uncertainty in Shunsui's voice gave Jyuushiro the room to take a deep, slow breath to calm his shaking. He blindly reached out to the bigger man and was quietly enveloped in a warm embrace.

"Sorry about that," Shunsui murmured in Jyuushiro's hair. "Telling her that we're intent on overthrowing the order of Soul Society would have made too much of an impression, I'm afraid."

"Hmph," Jyuushiro said against Shunsui's shoulder. "Instead you impugn my honor."

"Well, you have so much honor flowing from you all the time, I didn't think it'd make much of a dent."

Jyuushiro looked up. Shunsui sighed and bent his head, hesitating just a moment before his lips gently touched Jyuushiro's. Jyuushiro sighed as well, closed his eyes, and kissed back just as slowly, increasing the pressure just enough to make them both tremble.

A few minutes later, pops and bangs brought both their heads up. A flowering of light in the narrow sky above the alley made Jyuushiro smile. He grabbed Shunsui's hand and dragged him out onto the main street and toward the square.

There were fireworks. They filled the sky with chrysanthemums of light. The smoke and bangs were all part of it, and Jyuushiro watched, rapt. He felt Shunsui's arm go around his shoulders, and rather than pull away, he moved in closer and put his arm about his companion as well.

Together, they watched the lights.

Afterward, Shunsui kept them moving, stopping for drinks or snacks here and there. A skewer of mitarashi dango they shared was salty, sweet, chewy, and smoky from the grill. Teppanyaki on a giant metal plate filled the air with the scent of fried vegetables and meat. A game of karuta came up with poetry so bad Shunsui laughed until he fell over. The sake hadn't made that hard, and that was when Jyuushiro switched to tea. Eventually, Jyuushiro's head had that tight feeling he always got when he was just a little too tired, and his breath had shortened at the end of each inhalation.

"Maybe we should go back to the dorm room."

"Mmm..." Shunsui looked to the sky and then to the east. "Yes. Maybe we should, I think the sun's just about to come up."

Jyuushiro groaned when they got there and Shunsui didn't go in the front door. "The door is over here," he said.

"And the ladder is over here," Shunsui said complacently and waited.

Jyuushiro went over and climbed the ladder. At the top, Shunsui simply stepped up onto the roof and walked across the tiles. For a second, Jyuushiro thought about the fall to the ground, and then he remembered his shunpo lessons and Yoruichi's tumble from the bamboo. He took the step into the light breeze that had sprung up, and walked across the tiles to sit beside his friend.

"What are we doing here?" he asked.

"What I promised Kisuke," Shunsui replied. "He was going to make Yoruichi sit on the roof to see the sunrise and make their wishes for the new year."

"And your promise?"

"Well, I kind of just winked at him, but I want to do the same thing. Beside, it's nearly dawn already: it's not like we have to wait."

There was silver lining the Eastern sky, though the West was still pitch black. Shunsui moved so that Jyuushiro could lean against his warm bulk, and he tried not to fall asleep as they watched. Soon the gleaming disk of the sun touched the edge of the sky and they could see the bright white edges of Seireitei, the black edges of shadows long in the low sunlight.

Jyuushiro thought hard about what he really wanted, what he would wish for, and found himself surprised. He hadn't known Kyouraku Shunsui for that long, but all that he'd learned up to this point only made his desire all the stronger. _I wish to always be by this man's side, fighting for what should be against all that is evil_.

He felt his zanpakutou's spirit leap up in recognition of the wish, even as the bright disk of the sun rose in the sky on the first day of the new year.

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_Mmmm... research again.  
_

_I finally, finally, FINALLY got to use rasetsunyo's picture of Shunsui and Jyuushiro during fireworks, though I suspect she meant for it to be summer, not New Years, and she had a lot of other interesting chars in the background. It is entry 10569 in the bleach_15 livejournal community.  
_

_I actually didn't look up all the hexagrams to find the reading for them, as the reading found me. I threw the 43 hexagram when just thinking of the boys, and it fit very well. For a more detailed list of how to throw yarrow sticks for an I Ching reading (which is actually Chinese, though the Japanese do them as well) you can look at iching dot arrollo dont com slash yarrow dot htm._

_Also many thanks for all of you have stuck with this so far, and heartfelt thanks to Pax Morgana, ferler, Queraes, Theodosia, What-if-it-was, Mina Rain, xXLUSTxX, Reharakhti, Fyre Farae, xxmoon_childxx, logicalemotional, the Sorrowful Vampress, phoenixandashes, Ichigo Aisukeri-ru, Snowkid, and KimikoRinSoharaHyuugi for leaving reviews. I appreciate them even with the big delays.  
_


	30. Assignments

A woman jumped from rooftop to rooftop, using the fireworks as cover from attention. She landed as lightly as a cat each time. She stopped behind the shadow of a chimney to peel off her white hair rolling the wig carefully to tuck into a special pouch. The wrinkles would wash off later and her fortune-telling equipment was safe enough in the market place: she would be there again tomorrow.

She was challenged by one of the shadow warriors before she was even within a block of the house. She gave the bulky man the hand signal.

He said, "The gears of time..."

"... grind all to dust. And the tree spreads..."

"... its branches far and wide."

She nodded, sure now that he wasn't simply a decoy for some other clan, and he waved her on.

The room was lit by a single candle in a half-shade lantern that threw its shadow behind the desk. The single brilliant point of light dazzled her night vision, even as the man she knew was there could see her enter.

"What did you find?" The question was even and calm.

"The white-haired one reacted. The dark-haired one covered it with sexual innuendo that made the first truly angry. They ran off."

"So there is something between them," the man mused.

"Indeed."

"And?"

"I followed them of course, and heard the dark-haired one murmuring to the other about overthrowing the order of things. Are they..." She hesitated, wondering if she was over-reaching her assignment.

"What are you thinking?"

There was no refusing that question, and it gratified her that her lord cared what she thought.

"Are they teaching treason in that school?"

"That is something we need to find out." The grim tone from Shihouin Itsuki, head of the Shihouin Clan, made her shiver. "Soi Ma Yi, I have a new assignment for you."

* * *

"Sato Takumi is dead?" Takahashi Shirou let the frown show, then sighed as he put down his brush and waved the administrator's escort out of the room. There was no need for anyone to know more than what would be publicly obvious soon enough. He had checked to make sure his thinning blond hair was in place, and knew he looked the proper Hatsuzora gentleman in blue and gold kimono when the front gates had warned him that the low-ranked administrator of the Academy guardsmen had arrived.

"That is too bad," Shirou continued. "I suspect it was a fair fight, no?"

The administrator nodded his white-haired head, stroking his long beard nervously. He looked intimidated, which gratified Shirou in some small sense, but then he was paying the man's gambling debts. Both the man's gratitude and his fear of blackmail were working for him.

Finally, the administrator said, "All evidence indicates that his challenge was given properly, and the response by the challenged was appropriate. There were no extra parties involved, and the witnesses were reliable."

"Was it particularly bloody?"

Pursed lips met his question, a hesitation and then a nod. "One of the guards said that the death was a hard one, Takahashi-sama."

"Do you know if he said anything as he died?"

A shake of the head to his question. "I believe there was only a request for a quick death, which was mercifully granted."

Shirou nodded, and bit his lip to hide his relief. "A terrible way to go."

As much as he hated losing as valuable a tool as Takumi had been against the other bastard branches of the Hatsuzora house, he was glad that his interference in matters would now never be known. He liked it when things worked out to his benefit no matter which way the cards fell.

"Indeed, a very rash and ill-considered challenge. Uekiya-san is well known for his survival abilities."

Shirou didn't bother agreeing. "Do you have a copy of the full report with you?"

The administrator handed over a scroll.

Shirou noted that the scroll had still been wet when it was rolled up, ink smudged against the back of the paper. The man had done this quickly, if not surreptitiously. He took his time looking it over, enough time to make the administrator begin to fidget in impatience.

"Lord, I will be missed in my duties."

"Then we will be quick." He reached under his desk and pulled out a bag of coins, which he tossed to the man. "I do not wish any of the records to change. I am pleased with the information you have brought me: continuing to do so will be to our mutual benefit."

The administrator caught the bag, bowed deeply and left.

Shirou sat back, sipped his tea, and thought.

He wasn't that interested in the school, its teachers, or even the students. Being the fourth son of a second cousin to the heir made for an interesting problem if he wanted the power to lead his clan. He'd already gotten rid of his brothers, half his cousins, and the heir himself. He was nearly done toppling the top tiers of Hatsuzora. Now he all he wanted was to claim the wreckage once they were done fighting the other Clans or the Academy.

It didn't matter which they fought. Again, that was the beauty of his plan.

So long as Hatsuzora's Clan Head and his cronies were dead set against the Academy, Shirou would benefit from setting them against each other and the Clans against them all.

* * *

After New Years, Yamamoto-sama handed out scrolls to everyone, each tied with a colored string. The two red ones went to Kali and Kaoru, green ones to Hayato and Kenshin, and blue ones went to Shunsui and Jyuushiro.

"These are your assignments for the next three weeks. The patrols went so well, we are implementing more thorough scouting missions. Some of you," Yamamoto-sama said, looking straight at Kali, "have proven to be especially gifted at finding Hollow groupings and strongholds. I wish for you to map out what you find, and bring them back for the all-Clan meeting before the spring push so that we might all work on an approach to rid us of them."

"So the point of the exercise is to observe, not to engage them, sir?" Kaoru asked quietly. He got an exasperated look from Kali, which he ignored with ease.

"Indeed. You are not to fight them. Just warn the people around them so that they can be safe, and record their locations. We need to understand their motion, habits, and how and where they are congregating."

Kaoru didn't make any indication whatsoever of triumph that Jyuushiro could see, yet Kali punched him in the shoulder anyway.

Jyuushiro curiously untied and unrolled his scroll. The map was unfamiliar. A blue line meandered through flat plains, then looped and swirled about what looked like rocky and steep terrain. He frowned. "We won't know this land very well."

"This exercise is how you will get to know it. You will be protecting everyone, not just the people you know," Yamamoto-sama stated. Daisuke-san shifted from one foot to the other where he stood to the side, and Jyuushiro remembered what he'd said in his garden.

"In that case, Kenshin and Hayato, can you help us out with this?" Shunsui suddenly asked. "I think these are Ryuu and Shiba territories."

The nod Yamamoto-sama gave to Shunsui released them all from their seats.

It turned out that they had a rotation of routes of what lands each person knew and what they'd been assigned. Kenshin and Hayato mostly covered the city and surrounding areas, the usual stomping grounds of the Kuchiki and Shihouin. Kali and Kaoru had the areas Shunsui and Jyuushiro knew well. Soon all three maps had various notations on them, stick figures, drawings, characters of various types next to each expected path to indicate what might be expected in each spot. Dark areas the Hollows liked to congregate, villages that were so small they didn't show up on the maps, waterways that hadn't been marked, and level campsites that were favored childhood memories.

Yamamoto-sama and Daisuke-san mostly sat back and watched, but then Daisuke-san asked, "What are all those sketched-in gray lines there?"

Kenshin frowned. "Oh, that? It's a series of caves we... both found and built. Some of it's left over from mining efforts for salt, gold, and coal. There's a lot to it. See? Here, here, and here, they come out in a lot of places."

"That's right at the foot of our mountains," Shunsui said with a frown.

"Yes," Hayato said quietly. "There are a few shafts that come up to various parts of our mountain as well, and a few entrances by our castle. I think some of the shafts are to make sure there's good air down there, and some are traveling tunnels linked to caves that were already part of the mountain."

"What do you use those for?" Jyuushiro asked curiously.

"Well, getting to Kyouraku's holdings is easier through the tunnels, and we like to trade with them and sometimes with the Ryuu as well," Kenshin said.

Hayato huffed a laugh. "Lazy lowlanders. All the locals also use the caves as defensible strongholds."

Shunsui frowned. "Hmm... do they also do the usual survival things remote villages do?"

Hayato couldn't quite meet Shunsui's eyes. "Aye. There's some of that too."

Kenshin watched the exchange, brows beetled. "You have to be kidding."

Shunsui shrugged. "Kyouraku's done our best to adopt the reiatsu-gifted kids and babies into the castle staff; but it's still tough going among our mountains, especially in the villages where they simply don't have the food."

Hayato sighed, and this time he met Shunsui's eyes. "I hate that."

The nod he got from Shunsui looked sympathetic and wry.

"It's never easy when you're hungry," Jyuushiro said reflectively, thinking about all his adopted siblings. The others just looked at him for a moment. Kenshin was the one that nodded after a small hesitation. Jyuushiro shook his head, and wondered if he'd been the only one in this room to ever go hungry.

Kaoru surprised him by murmuring, "There are a great many homeless children right here in Rukongai, within sight of the walls of Seireitei."

"What?" Shunsui drawled. "Didn't you know that Seireitei just tosses its homeless over the wall?"

Kali stamped her foot. "No we don't, Shunsui. Well, at least the Shihouin takes care of its orphans. We foster and adopt the young dead if they show promise."

"And the ones that don't?" Shunsui's question went unanswered. Jyuushiro met his eyes as everyone else turned away.

Kali pointed at her trail, and then at the trail through Shunsui's and Jyuushiro's map. "Hey. Does this mean we might be able to meet up here? It'll be about two-thirds of the way through the trip, and it would be fun to see you two. Kenshin and Hayato will be stuck here in the city, but..."

Shunsui's frustration seethed in his reiatsu, but all attention turned to the maps. They determined that, yes, it was possible for the four of them to meet at the far end of the tunnels. By the end of the class, everyone had a far better feeling for what it was they were going to do, and how they were going to go about it.

"Feel free to ask Daisuke-san and I any logistics questions you might have. Take the rest of the week to flesh out your plans. You leave the first day of next week to walk these paths," Yamamoto-sama said. "You need to be prepared."

* * *

On the last day before they were to go out, Jyuushiro was surprised to find Yamamoto-sama taking a hand in the kendo classes. Both Shunsui and Jyuushiro went to a single sword in the common classes with the other students. They did the common warm-ups and strengthening exercises with the rest of the class.

The dojo doors were cracked open to the winter air, so the smell of sweat and exertion wasn't as overwhelming as it could get when a storm raged outside and the doors were firmly shut. Jyuushiro knelt at the edge of the mats next to Shunsui, and watched as other students lined up for their turn against the old man.

He looked so frail, bent over his stick, eyes surrounded by so many wrinkles they looked nearly shut. Abe Tarou, who was nearly as big as his guardsman father, and a determined-looking Takahashi Rina charged him with their bokken held high.

Yamamoto-sama stepped forward into their attacks, catching Abe-kun's faster and stronger strike while it was still high. His knobby and gnarled walking stick caught the bokken's edge, and Yamamoto turned the force of the attack to the side and down. The motion knocked Abe-kun's center off-balance, and he whirled as he fell. The thick end of the walking stick caught the very tip of Takahashi's zanpakutou on its way down, and the weight of it knocked her blade aside. The momentum of her run pushed her past Yamamoto-sama's onward progress.

"Did you see?" Yamamoto-sama asked the class.

Everyone nodded.

"What did you see, Kyouraku-kun?"

Everyone looked at Shunsui, who paused in thought before answering. "You actively used their attacks to your advantage."

"Come at me, you and Ukitake-kun."

Jyuushiro and Shunsui exchanged a glance. They'd done this before, and had been turned as easily as Abe-kun and Takahashi; but they'd learned a bit about coordination and timing together since that time.

Jyuushiro watched Shunsui's forward knee, and when Shunsui put his weight forward to start his attack, Jyuushiro sprang forward as well. Both of them kiai'ed in one voice and struck at Yamamoto-sama's sides.

The old man whirled, sleeves and robes swirling even as Ryujin Jakka pin-wheeled. Jyuushiro suddenly saw that the tiny difference in their heights and speeds had already defeated them. The slight lag between the tip of his sword and the tip of Shunsui's, as small as it was it, allowed Yamamoto-sama the time to get the heavy end of Ryunjin Jakka in the way of Shunsui's attack first. That motion gave him the room to move far enough to elude Jyuushiro's strike. Jyuushiro had a moment to be amazed that Yamamoto-sama saw and used the difference as they'd come at him, just before the small end of Ryunjin Jakka rudely probed the point between his shoulders and sent him stumbling past. At least he only hit the floor, unlike Shunsui who had to leap a seated line of students before hitting the wall.

There was a stunned silence for a few moments before the murmuring and soft laughter started; but then it was everyone else's turn. By the time the whole class was done, Yamamoto-sama hadn't even broken a sweat; and no one was laughing at anyone else anymore.

After the common exercises, Jyuushiro and Shunsui moved off with Kenshin, Abe, and Tanaka Jirou. Ryuu-sama followed them after he had got the other groups started on their exercises.

"All right, you lot. I need you to start working on the kind of timing Yamamoto-sama showed you in his little demonstration. I am assuming that you folks saw what he was doing and how he was doing it: you're advanced enough to see that," Ryuu-sama started.

All of them nodded.

"But I'm not at all sure how to do anything about it, yet," Jyuushiro said ruefully. "I saw the difference in timing between our strikes, but I don't know if I could decide to do what Yamamoto-sama did before the attacks hit."

"Then let us work on reproducing your attacks in slow motion," Ryuu-sama said. "And you can see not only what happened, but what the correct response would be.

And so they did.

After a grueling hour of recreation and practicing all the hits from both sides, Shunsui asked, "What if we did it with two swords?"

Jyuushiro groaned with the others.

"You wish to try against me?" Ryuu-sama said with a grin. "With full reiatsu? I think you're skilled enough now that you won't impale yourself on my edges; and my reiatsu should be good enough to ward you two off."

"Please, Ryuu-shishou," Shunsui said.

Jyuushiro groaned. "And I bet you want me to be the second attacker."

Both men just looked at him. He sighed. "All right. Kenshin, can you lend me your other bokken?"

Kenshin handed over the wooden sword readily. Shunsui hefted his long and short blade. Ryuu-sama grinned a grin that would have looked more at home on a shark, and Jyuushiro hefted his two equal swords in his two hands. Unlike Shunsui, he'd found it easier to have them be the same, so he didn't have to think about the fact that he had two different capabilities in his two hands.

All three of them flared their reiatsu, and the other students backed up two paces.

When Ryuu-sama moved to attack them, it surprised Jyuushiro. Shunsui got his bigger blade up, but had it knocked from his hand as he took the brunt of the hit at a bad angle. Jyuushiro managed to take the rest of the force on his two crossed blades before Ryuu-sama's edge could touch Shunsui.

"Good. That's one way to deal with the strength deficit."

Ryuu-sama backed up one swift step, releasing Jyuushiro's blades, which he used together to swipe at Ryuu-sama. The teacher easily blocked them with his one before turning to deal with two snake-swift strikes by Shunsui with his smaller blade.

Then Ryuu-sama was no longer where Shunsui aimed, and Jyuushiro had to shift position to face him again before swatting at him with his left-hand sword. Ryuu-sama caught that blade with his own, and knocked it loose from Jyuushiro's too-weak grip. That same motion ended abruptly with Ryuu-sama's tip resting against Shunsui's throat, and Shunsui's small blade fell short of Ryuu-sama.

"Again?"

Shunsui nodded, a short jerky movement.

They all backed off. Shunsui and Jyuushiro picked up their lost weapons. The frown on Shunsui's face made Jyuushiro consciously decide to try to change the timing. They'd worked on this so hard since the trips home, though to different effects.

"Off the beat," Shunsui said and Jyuushiro nodded. It was their code for trying to make each sword strike independently of the other. It was a philosophy that they had applied to how they could fight together against an opponent as well.

Jyuushiro went straight in with his right blade, point first, but Ryuu-sama swatted the tip away from his chest. The block took Jyuushiro's right arm across his body to the left. He used that force to continue whirling in that direction, and brought the edge of his left-hand blade around to cut across Ryuu-sama's center. Ryuu-sama managed to recover from the block well enough to jump back, out of Jyuushiro's range. Meanwhile, Shunsui used Jyuushiro as a screen, blocking him from Ryuu-sama's view until he was a step from striking distance. He lunged forward with a big strike with his larger blade, and Ryuu-sama reacted quickly by blocking it up and away.

Shunsui's smaller blade snuck in under that block, and its tip nestled gently against Ryuu-sama's throat.

Jyuushiro saw the motion Ryuu-sama made when he swallowed against that pressure. What shocked him was seeing the trickle of blood that followed. Shunsui was strong enough to actually cut through Ryuu-sama's reiatsu.

"Nicely done," Ryuu-sama said quietly, and touched his throat with a frown.

Shunsui backed off hurriedly. "I'm sorry. I didn't..."

Ryuu-sama's eyes narrowed as he saw the blood on his fingertips. "No, that was my fault, I think." He eyed the two of them, then grinned that grin again. "You won't get off that easy. Come again. I want to make sure it wasn't just a fluke."

* * *

"Do you really think Ryuu-sama will take it?" Kuchiki Ren asked as he moved a cassia horse further into the shogi board of ebony and mountain pine. The pieces were ivory, the more powerful pieces larger than the weaker ones, each pointing in the direction they fought. He sat seiza on cushions before a solid table, and admired his beautiful companion and opponent.

"I'm fairly sure that he will if Yamamoto is somehow disabled. He feels a great deal of responsibility for the Academy and its ideals." Ryuu Hinata studied the board, then pushed a foot solder forward. Her face might be thought of as being a bit too hawkish for conventional beauty, her nose rather large and her eyes too sharp for her to inspire poetry.

"That might take care of two things at once for us," Ren noted as he thought over his move.

"Indeed. It would bring the Academy under the leadership of a noble, and it would do much more to keep my dear brother out of my hair with respect to how I run the Ryuu estates." Hinata pushed back the long silk of her hair, the deep blue black of a raven's wing. It fell to her ankles when she stood, and was one of her beauties. Though, privately, Ren thought her true wealth lay in the mind under that hair.

"Have you come up with a plan on how to do it?" Ren moved his silver general forward another square, and picked up a teacup to sip the liquor of golden osmanthus flowers. The delicate perfume of the liquid gave him quiet pleasure.

"Mmm... did you see their new assignment? They're off to find Hollows. I wonder what Yamamoto would do if they found far more pooled in one place than they thought they'd find." Hinata pushed forward her incense chariot deep into Ren's territory.

Ren studied the board. "I found it intriguing that my cousin will be traveling in the mountains."

Hinata looked up at him, her pale blue eyes steady. "You will not be killing him there, will you?"

"Who, me? Never." Ren snapped up Hinata's incense chariot with his flying chariot, then dropped her piece back on the board, now fighting for his side. "However, he is there to learn how to deal with Hollows. Perhaps I can help make his lessons more interesting."

* * *

When Jyuushiro got to their room, a cleaning lady was coming out of it with her basket full of dirty linens, their laundry, her cleaning supplies, duster and broom. She was a familiar sight, the same woman who had been in and out of their room since the start of the year. He bowed to her, and she gave him a fleeting smile and bowed deeply back before she went on to the next room. For an instant he looked back at her, wondering if she was related to the fortuneteller in the square: but then he shook his head at the random thought when he had so much else to do.

Jyuushiro flung himself into his room, dumped all the dojo equipment onto the floor, kicked his empty travel bag, and sighed. After his previous trip, there was so much he wanted to pack and just couldn't fit in: things he'd thought about like a journal, pen and paper for drawing, fancier foodstuffs, that extra robe for when it was too wet out, an extra bottle of camellia oil, the book he'd been wanting to read for months . . .

Shunsui was nowhere to be found. There were rumors that he'd gone out drinking with Kenshin, one last fling before going on duty for three weeks. Jyuushiro wasn't bitter about it, not at all.

He sat and thought for a while. "Priorities," he said to himself. "Pick what's important first, and then the rest can be left behind."

The map went in first, which he found on Shunsui's desk. Then winter survival gear: the things he needed to be warm and dry were easy. Dried food, and the bare minimal equipment to prepare fire and food were as simple as the kit to maintain and polish his zanpakutou. They expected to be fed, at least some, by the villagers, but the emergency supplies needed to be in the pack. The necessities were easy; however, the last pound of personal items baffled him.

Finally he ended up with the most effective of his medications, a small stack of washable clothes, and three Hell butterflies, as they'd proven so useful before. He added a roll of blank paper, a brush, and a stick of ink to their map, to make any changes in case things weren't as the map makers had drawn them. Finally, his hand hesitated over the pile of charms he'd brought back from home, and he gently picked out the one that Hiroko-chan had given him for his birthday and put that in as well. He ended up putting the others up about their room, and felt better for it.

In the morning he felt even better, as an obviously hung-over and groaning Shunsui stuffed things randomly into his bag.

The morning air chilled Jyuushiro down to the bone, even with his robes and furs. The pale dawn light rendered everything in grey and black shadows about them. Everyone looked pinched and a little wan in the low light as they gathered before the Gate, waiting for the Gatekeeper to open the way.

"You know what to do if you find anything, right?" Daisuke-san asked crisply. Goro-kun stood behind him, waiting patiently to escort his mentor.

"Yes, sir!" The students chorused.

"Send you a Hell Butterfly and get the Hell out of there," murmured Kenshin.

Everyone laughed.

"That is the essence of it," Daisuke-san said dryly. "Come back in one piece."

"Yes, sir," they all said together again, and the stone gate rumbled up and open. The huge Gatekeeper peered down at them as if they were ants, and then gave them a slow bow as they left the city.

* * *

_**Author's Notes**  
_

_One of the most intriguing aspects of Shogi, or Japanese Chess, is that captured pieces may be set back on the board playing for ones own side. Of course, this wasn't recorded as being done until nearly the sixteenth century, but... I haven't been strictly historically accurate with the piece to this point, either._

_Soi Fong's code name has been misspelled in most translations, as the correct Pinyin of her working code name should be Sui Feng (Smashing Bee/Wasp(organized insect)); however, I have carried on the misspelling in the interest of folks actually recognizing a previous recipient of a mildly different codename. I think that the same organization would probably give out similar names for similar capabilities._

_And, yes, Mina, I realized that, up to this point there haven't really been visible antagonists, and had actually written this and sent it to my beta the day she asked if there were going to be actual bad guys in this story. :-) Up to now it's mostly been them fighting themselves, but there was all this other stuff going on where it just wasn't visible to them.  
_


	31. Shiba

It took them two days to get out to the Shiba plains, and after another two days' walking mixed with scattered shunpo steps, Jyuushiro wondered if it would ever end. The flat unending land was brown and sere, and the sky above was clear blue and uncannily empty of clouds compared to the ocean skies Jyuushiro was accustomed to.

"This is never going to end," Shunsui grumbled, as they walked along land that looked exactly like what they'd walked across for most of the previous day. "Now I know why I've never gone this way home before. It's dead boring."

Jyuushiro watched hawks circling above the grasses. "At least it's dry and sunny."

Shunsui looked up as well, shading his eyes. "It is that, and the sun is going to bring the wind."

True to Shunsui's word, the wind picked up in the afternoon. With nothing to stop it, the wind grew fiercer and fiercer, until Jyuushiro felt like he was leaning into a wall when they were facing it. The constant buffeting and roar of the wind gradually wore away at both of them. Sand and dust blew through the air, working its way into eyes, ears, and mouth until all Jyuushiro could taste was grit and dryness.

He pulled his water tube from his hip and took a drink, handing it to Shunsui to share. The bigger man paused, took a small sip, spat it onto the fluttering grasses, and then took a longer drink with a cleared mouth.

For a while, they saw the mountains they were heading toward: then the land rose in a swell and hid their destination from their view. The sun remained constant, so they simply navigated by it across the sea of grass. There seemed to be nothing out there. No people, no houses, no animals, and it didn't surprise Jyuushiro to see no Hollows either.

They broke over the edge of the rise, and before them rose the mountains. They were dark blue, like solidified sky, with the pale white of snow glinting on the jagged peaks. They loomed over the dusty brown of the ground, the darker pool of water, and the small town nestled among the roots of the mountains.

For all that they could see the town, it took them until nightfall to actually come within hailing distance of the walls. Their letters of introduction took them into the city easily, and two guards went with them to show them to the Shiba grounds.

The grounds were immense, flanked by the mountain to the back. Jyuushiro suddenly felt claustrophobic with all that weight of stone hanging over them after days under an immense sky. At the gates to the grounds, the guards traded off with two of Shiba's personal guards, one male and one female.

A shout of laughter from Shunsui brought Jyuushiro's attention back to the ground and a rather modest building. The building was surrounded by two enormous arms, the hands of which held a banner that read, "This is the Great Shiba Estate".

"That is..." Shunsui couldn't seem to find the words and just shook his head.

Jyuushiro coughed discreetly into a cloth rather than laugh out loud.

They left their shoes at the entrance, and walked into what, from the outside, had seemed so modest. The inside consisted of a great ramp down into the earth: torches lined the tunnel at regular intervals on either side.

"Wow. Does this actually lead to the tunnels?" Jyuushiro asked, fascinated.

"What do you know of the tunnels?" the guard asked, startled. "Only the Shiba family knows about the tunnels."

"Kenshin told us," Shunsui said flatly, and both guards stared at him even more closely. "Hey. He's our friend. He'd tell us, and it's not like the Ryuu don't know what's going on under their feet."

"Please read the letters, they should explain our relationship with Shiba-san," Jyuushiro said quietly, remembering to add the proper honorific.

Shunsui gave him a wink when the guards were looking at him. Oh... so the lack of honorific had

been intentional on Shunsui's part. This was going to get interesting, especially if Kenshin's normal biases had any basis in his home life.

One of the guards frowned at the paper, and then handed it to the other guard. She sighed, and unrolled it to look, using her finger to follow along what was written, frowning fiercely the whole time. "Right. You're here on a class assignment?" She started laughing. "That's good."

Jyuushiro and Shunsui looked at each other, not quite sure why she was laughing so hard, but when she turned down into the tunnel they followed. The other guard trailed them both.

Kenshin's conversations and behavior, the guards' reactions to their knowing what seemed to be Shiba secrets, and Shunsui's innate dislike of formality all swirled together in Jyuushiro's head. He took five steps back from Shunsui, letting the big man lead. Shunsui threw him a puzzled glance from over his shoulder. Jyuushiro met the gaze, and then saw comprehension dawn. The eye roll was classic. Jyuushiro nodded in acknowledgment, and Shunsui turned to follow their guide.

The underground chambers were immense. The main hallway had numerous branches, and those echoed their footsteps with cavernous delays. They walked through dozens of turns, and ended up at a wall of stone with two sliding doors set in the center. The guards each took a door and pulled them open to reveal a throne room.

In it, an enormous lacquered throne was filled to overflowing by a man that looked like what Kenshin would have looked like if he were decades older, a few stone heavier, and had been in far more fights.

The front guard fell back. Jyuushiro kept pace with the guards until he saw the lead one's eyes give a terrified flick between him and a spot just a foot in front of them, and a few yards back from Shunsui. He took the half step forward, and felt both of the guards suddenly relax. So his status was above that of the normal servants, but low enough that this should be safe. When he saw the guards stop in their tracks, he stopped as well and went to his knees, head to the floor. Shunsui stopped before the throne and gave a half-bow to Shiba-sama.

Shiba-sama's eyebrows rose. "That is how you pay your respects to a Clan leader?"

Shunsui stiffened. "That's more than I give to my father."

"He should teach you your place better, whelp," Shiba-sama's reiatsu exploded forth as he rocked forward out of his chair, and he was on Shunsui in a flash of shunpo. He cuffed Shunsui hard on the side of his head; and Jyuushiro found himself on his feet when Shunsui hit the ground. His zanpakutou spirit leaped in outrage, pushing at the back of his mind in a white-hot rush of anger. One of the guards tackled Jyuushiro's ankles, and Jyuushiro found himself abruptly back on the ground as well.

The weight of Shiba-sama's reiatsu was heavy and harsh, acrid like the edge of burnt gunpowder. When his attention was turned toward Jyuushiro, Jyuushiro was reminded of when Ryuu-sama pushed all his intent into an exercise. Heavy, but something Jyuushiro now knew he could withstand. Of course, there was the matter of someone wrapped around his lower legs.

"So you have a faithful companion, who knew better than you to start with, but now wants to get into it." Shiba-sama stood over Jyuushiro.

"He usually does," Shunsui chuckled breathlessly. To Jyuushiro's relief, he got up off the ground, but knelt at the proper aspect.

A foot prodded Jyuushiro's shoulder. "Beautiful, too. You, get off his ankles. If you know what's good for your lord, you better stay put."

The guard reluctantly let go, but it was Shunsui's evenly voiced, "Don't," that kept Jyuushiro where he was, even as he shook with suppressed adrenaline. He suddenly realized that Shunsui's reiatsu was very, very tightly pulled in. While Jyuushiro hadn't flared involuntarily this time, he hadn't thought to hide his powers.

"Loyal, strong, and obedient. That's a good combination." Shiba-sama's praise made Shunsui snort. That caused Shiba-sama to laugh a huge rolling belly laugh. "I'm assuming you want him in your rooms while you stay here; and it looks as if your assignment goes in many of the same places my patrols go. There will be no surprises."

"We're... I'm just learning the lay of the land." The lightness of Shunsui's voice made Jyuushiro's eyes close, and he was just glad that Shiba-sama didn't know Shunsui as well as he did.

"Ah, well, that would be a worthwhile effort, if this were your lands. Is your father as studious as ever and your mother as terrifying?"

"Quite. Mother is always ready to take anyone on," Shunsui said without any hesitation, and Jyuushiro was startled by the surety of the threat within his words. "However... as was stated in the scroll, Yamamoto-sama intends the Academy forces to help defend all the lands, not just our own."

"Hmph," Shiba-sama snorted. "Well, we'll see. If I can't defend my own people myself, what use am I? You go ahead and play your games. I know you're not responsible for the rest. I will tell Yamamoto he should have sent my son back to me to see what there was to see, but that is not your fault. Do as you're ordered, that is appropriate." He waved over his majordomo. "See to it that Kyouraku-kun is appropriately housed with his servant and that he has access to what he needs. He will be in and out."

Jyuushiro saw Shunsui's jaw clench once before he said pleasantly, "Thank you, Shiba-sama."

"You're welcome, now that you have a civil tongue in your head," Shiba-sama returned. "Now off with you."

Jyuushiro carefully moved backwards far enough before even getting up to his knees. They left the throne room in the same order as they came in.

"We will take them to the west wing, the ninth room: that should put them out of the way and near the western tunnels," the majordomo said crisply.

The guards nodded and led the way, and the majordomo trailed them quietly. When they had made three turns into successively smaller tunnels, the majordomo turned to shout for two maids. The girls scurried ahead with heads bowed, and went into the room to light the oil lamps, fill the drinking water, sweep away the cloths on the furniture, and start the fire in the stove under the table in the center of the room.

Once it was done, the majordomo bowed to Shunsui and said, "I hope that you will find this to be to your satisfaction, Kyouraku-san. The common bath and dining areas are that way." He pointed further on in the direction they'd been going.

"Thank you," Shunsui said and gave the servants nothing but a nod. They seemed accustomed to that and bowed themselves away, sliding the paper door shut behind them.

For a long moment the two of them just stood there in the center of the room.

"I thought you were going to try and kill him," Shunsui started off conversationally as he moved to drop his pack by the futons.

Jyuushiro followed him and set his down as well. "Yes."

Shunsui snorted softly. "You and your ideals."

Jyuushiro wordlessly moved in close to Shunsui and wrapped his arms around him, and felt Shunsui gust a huge sigh and wrap his arms around Jyuushiro. That was when Jyuushiro realized that Shunsui was shaking as hard as he was.

Shunsui said softly against Jyuushiro's hair, "I really truly hate politics, you know?"

"You do so well at it..."

"It's just reflex, like the sword play and martial arts. I do well at it, but I hate them anyway," Shunsui said wryly. "And for the same reasons."

"They hurt people?" Jyuushiro said quietly, and felt Shunsui start a little. He broke their hug to sit on the floor by the heater. Jyuushiro knelt beside him, grateful for the warmth. He leaned against Shunsui's side, and was gratified when Shunsui leaned as well.

"Sometimes it can't be helped, though. I'm learning that," Shunsui said quietly, watching the flames. "After the patrol, and when I saw Sato go after Daisuke-san..." He shook his head. "That was eye-opening. There's only one way to stop some people."

"What do you think of Kenshin's father?" Jyuushiro said softly. "He isn't an assassin, but he's so pig-headed, set in his privileges as a Lord."

Shunsui frowned. "Shiba's different. I learned that from Kenshin when I was drinking with him. His dad's like a boar, he just ignores the small stuff. If you challenge him and then back down, you'll get trampled and gored. If you look too big and don't back him into a corner, he'll play nice until he thinks he can get you. So we'll just make sure he doesn't think he needs to hurt us, and it's easy."

"That's why you used your mother as a threat?" Jyuushiro asked, surprised.

Shunsui nodded. "With reiatsu, he can sense if I mean it or not, so I had to use something I really believed, and Mom would just stomp him flat if he tried taking Kyouraku land."

"You think he'll play nice at that?"

"Well, he sure changed his tune right after that, didn't he?

"I didn't like him hitting you," Jyuushiro said, and felt that jolt of adrenaline run through him again and the flash of his zanpakutou's spirit. "It wasn't right."

Shunsui laughed, and Jyuushiro felt him relax suddenly. "Kenshin's done... hell, you've done a lot worse to me in class."

Jyuushiro considered that, remembering some pretty good falls, and he reluctantly nodded. "Physically. I just..."

"Jyuushiro, I don't have any pride you need to protect." A big warm hand wrapped about his cool one, and Jyuushiro had to close his eyes for a moment.

"I guess I would differ," Jyuushiro said to the flames.

Shunsui chuckled softly. "You are proud enough for the both of us, perhaps."

Jyuushiro blushed at that. "Am I really..."

"No," Shunsui cut in. "Well... you are and you aren't. You're not stuck up, if that's what you're asking, nor are you so proud that you're blind to what you can learn from others; but... you're going to make someone really angry someday simply 'cause you'll hold onto principles every other sane man would let fall by the wayside when his life's at stake."

"Angry?" Jyuushiro blinked, bewildered.

"You're going to make someone remember what they should have been, and there's going to be someone that will hate you for that," Shunsui said soberly.

Jyuushiro studied Shunsui quietly, watching the lights of the flames flicker across dark eyes and dark hair. "Do you hate me?"

Shunsui turned and gave Jyuushiro a lopsided grin. "Sometimes." Jyuushiro must have changed expression, because Shunsui sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Most of the time, though, I just want to live up to what you think I'm capable of doing."

"I... I think I'm glad of that," Jyuushiro said.

"Well, good, 'cause I'm not sure I can stop now." Shunsui ran his hand through up his hair and grimaced. "Ugh, I think the grit from the prairie's worked itself permanently into my scalp."

"Maybe we should try and bathe before dinner?"

"Yeah." Shunsui levered himself back up and started to dig through his pack. "Guess I will have to wear my persimmon colored kimono."

"Shunsui..."

And Jyuushiro knew things were okay again when Shunsui burst out laughing at Jyuushiro's tone.

* * *

The next week was spent following the patrol paths that were marked on their map. Many of the paths crisscrossed through the mountain tunnels and the overland paths. They'd stay a night in some remote village before heading back into the Shiba tunnels along a different route. Shunsui was careful to mark tunnels on their map, as they found them, especially as short cuts to the villages. As Shiba-sama indicated, there were no Hollows to be seen anywhere. People seemed busy and content, and the children weren't afraid of them. What they hadn't anticipated was that when Jyuushiro started giving kids candy, they often received stories of Shiba's patrols coming through the day before.

"Cheating bastard," Shunsui muttered as the kids ran away to play. "Damnit, he's using his knowledge of what our route's going to be to clear the way."

Jyuushiro unrolled the map for the two of them to see, and they both bent over it.

"We're about halfway through our time, and we've covered nearly everything we've been asked to cover already," Jyuushiro said.

"How about here?" Shunsui asked, tracing a line that was not marked in blue. "There seems to be a village out here, and Kenshin and Hayato said that this valley seems to be a hiding place the Hollows like."

Jyuushiro nodded. "And it's off the route Shiba-sama knows about." He looked up to see Shunsui grinning at him.

"What?"

"You're thinking devious thoughts." Shunsui didn't even bother masking his glee, and he watched Jyuushiro pull himself up at the phrasing.

"I am not." Jyuushiro huffed. "I'm just... wondering what he's neglecting while he tries to clear the path before us."

"There. That's devious. Let's do it."

"It is not devious, it is... "

"Practical," Shunsui said with a laugh.

Jyuushiro opened his mouth, closed it, and then nodded. "That I'll accept."

When they turned down the tunnel from their room, Shunsui felt a little like when Jyuushiro had followed him to the gangsters' camp, as if he were getting the other man into trouble. As they walked he thought it over: Jyuushiro wouldn't be following him if there wasn't a good reason to, just like with the camp. He'd have to trust that Jyuushiro knew what he was getting into.

They walked through the tunnels for a few hours. During the week they'd found that there were markings at each intersection that indicated north, south, east, and west. Some of the intersections were even becoming more familiar, the turns and twists to get to common areas easily navigated. Between the directions and the map they were able to head out to the west entrance of the underground complex, out into the lower foothills of the mountains.

When they reached the outside there was mist everywhere, obscuring the peaks and hiding the valleys. They couldn't see much more than a dozen yards before them, as they ate rice balls for their mid-day meal while still walking. At first bamboo stood tall and disappeared into the mists, then evergreens as they passed the grove and wound into forest a few miles further on. A stream tumbled and ran alongside the path, ice still jagged along the edges. Shunsui grinned, seeing his name in the water, and he bent to put a hand in. It was frigid cold, but when he brought the liquid to his mouth it was sweet.

He noticed that Jyuushiro protected his back as he drank. His friend was turned, watching the forest. "You feel it, too?"

Jyuushiro started. "Feel what?"

Shunsui sighed. "There's something out here. I'm not sure what, yet, but... do you hear any birds?"

Jyuushiro tilted his head to listen, and then he frowned.

"Thought not. Let's keep going."

They were both more wary as they went, and Shunsui couldn't be sorry when they came over the lip of a valley and in the mist they saw a seething of white.

They both dropped as if shot by crossbows, and Shunsui felt Jyuushiro wrap his reiatsu tightly in even as he did the same. They both moved closer in an attempt to see more, but the Hollows were too many to count. Huge Gillian gave lowing cries. The warm weight of the other man on his shoulder anchored Shunsui, this was real. The soft breath against his ear made him close his eyes.

"How do we warn the villagers?" Jyuushiro whispered.

Shunsui wanted to laugh, but he held it in. No denial of what they were seeing, no questions about could it be real? The crowd of Hollow amassed in the valley made Shunsui doubt his eyes, and the pop, pop, pop of Hollow reiatsu could only be multiple Adjuchas flickering through that herd. A trick of the mists, or something else? No, this was just something that had to be dealt with, and the most practical thing would be to warn the villagers. Jyuushiro had hit the heart of it with his first words.

Shunsui recalled the map and its contours behind his closed eyes. "The next entrance is too far from the village for a timely message."

"If they aren't already overrun," Jyuushiro sighed.

"Will your hell butterflies work?" Shunsui asked, his eyes opening as he turned over to look at Jyuushiro.

Jyuushiro thought a while and then shook his head. "I have to know someone to send one to them."

"Drat. I was afraid you'd say that. We're going to just have to sneak over to the village."

"Sneak? Through them?" Disbelief finally touched Jyuushiro's voice.

Shunsui let himself chuckle. "I'm not that crazy..." He pointed to the ridge to their right. "Daisuke-san said that the best strategic place to be on a mountain is just to the far side of the top. So we'll go up and follow the ridge of this foothill and stay on the far side of it, and check for where they are now and then. They can't see us, we won't be silhouetted against the top, and we'll have plenty of warning if they do try to swarm up it. The ridge should lead us most of the way to the village, and we'll have to just chance the slope down the other side."

Jyuushiro nodded. "That makes sense. I just hope it won't be like Yoruichi-chan coming down off that bamboo when we get to that last slope."

Hours and a scrambling climb later, as the sun slanted down low in the late afternoon, Shunsui surveyed that slope into the village. "You had to say that, didn't you?"

Jyuushiro laughed breathlessly. He had kept up with Shunsui, but Shunsui had kept their pace slow enough that he could. Their plan had worked, and there hadn't been any motion by the Hollow in the valley to indicate that they knew that the two students were there. Shunsui was still in good shape, but he could see Jyuushiro was physically exhausted. He was covered in a heavy sweat and he sat whenever they stopped to rest. Luckily, th scene below them was peaceful: there was smoke coming from all the chimneys, the kids were running around playing, and the Hollows were nowhere within sight or their reiatsu senses.

The slope down, however, was loose shale. Slippery, sliding stuff: if they knocked too much of it loose it would all come down in a pile at the bottom of the mountain, and they'd be tumbled about in it like dice in a gambler's cup. Shunsui frowned, considering it.

Then to his surprise, Jyuushiro took a shunpo step down, landed lightly on a bare spot and then jumped down again.

"Aw, shit," Shunsui said softly, and rather than try to emulate that kind of reiatsu control, he started walking down the slope. He managed to find a slender bare thread of a track through the shale until about halfway down. He paused a moment and saw Jyuushiro already at the bottom, waiting for him. He sighed, took another step, and his foot hit a loose spot. He slid and when he tried to take another step it was on the same slippery stuff. He only went faster.

That did it. The whole hillside started sliding down with him. When he saw a boulder start bouncing toward him, he shunpo'ed to the side, barely caught his balance, and started concentrating on finding a solid spot to place his feet each time they came down. His world narrowed to tiny shelves, hillocks of dead grass, and flat boulders. He had no room for panic or fear of the fall, there was just that next foot hold. The ground suddenly loomed up. There was a bang-flash of shunpo, something hit him hard in the side, and he found himself under Jyuushiro, knocked well clear of the ensuing avalanche of rock.

He caught his breath, his arms automatically going around Jyuushiro, who clung to his waist, shaking. When he managed to get his head up, he suddenly realized that Jyuushiro was shaking with laughter. Shunsui started laughing, which made Jyuushiro laugh out loud, which only set Shunsui off further, and both of them lay there and laughed until they cried.

"Crazy kids. They're not only alive, they're laughing!" The voice sounded disgusted. "Look at all that rock. The dust!"

Shunsui and Jyuushiro wiped the tears from their eyes, and Shunsui chuckled at the tracks that made through the dust masking his face. Jyuushiro coughed once, but got a cloth out to breathe through as he helped Shunsui up.

"Sir?" Shunsui called out, and started toward the voices.

"Who the hell's sir'ing me?" came a rough voice out from the woods. "What the fuck are you doing out here?"

"Tryin' to warn you, sir." Shunsui found himself changing his vocabulary and syntax to fit that of the mountain folks. "There's Hollows down in that valley, and they're a mighty large number of 'em. I think you'd best get your folks where it's safe."

The abrupt stop in progress by the oncoming bodies made Shunsui come to the alert.

"Kyouraku folk, are you? What the hell are you doin' here on our ground? Doncha know better than to..."

"Arai, he said Hollow! If there's Hollows..."

"Hollows? How can there be Hollows? Shiba-sama woulda gotten a message out and gotten our asses outta here. No way there kin be..."

"Would you care to follow us? We can show you where they are," Jyuushiro cut in tiredly.

"I'll go, Arai, you don't have ta..."

"Hmph, wild-goose chase, Saito, but if you're willin'."

"Yeah. I'll go." A wiry youth came out of the trees, with an old man following him. He stopped and stared a bit at the two Academy students. "You're in uniforms."

"Shinio Reijutsa Academy," Shunsui supplied. "We're students out trying to help."

"Help, huh?" Saito turned to the older man. "I'll be right back."

Shunsui looked at the exhausted Jyuushiro. "Why don't you stay here? Maybe get them started on packing or figuring out how to get out?"

Jyuushiro grinned a little wryly, but nodded. "Certainly. Arai-san, may I go to the village with you? Maybe you can show me what you need to do for an evacuation for when they do come back with confirmation."

The old man looked at Jyuushiro and frowned. "What the hell did you just say?"

Jyuushiro looked the man in the eye. "Let us go get ready to get out of here, if there really are Hollows." Jyuushiro respectfully waited, and at the nod and a muttered mumble about stuck-up students, he turned the old guy around and they walked back toward the village.

Saito laughed. "Your partner's good with obstinate people." Then he tilted his head at Shunsui. "Let's go."

They went at a full run down the floor of the valley as the sun moved behind the mountains. It was easier than the climb along the mountain, and Shunsui felt good going all out, his running was smooth and easy. The other man kept up with him without a show of effort, and when he gave the hunter's hand sign for slow and quiet, the other instantly slowed and grew cautious.

Hollow reiatsu alerted Shunsui from yards and yards away, and he was surprised that the other man didn't seem to be aware of it at all. Shunsui wrapped his reiatsu about him even more tightly, and they went in closer. Finally, when they could see the white heads, gaping maws, and talons gleaming, Saito sat down for a minute, his eyes very, very wide. He made no sound, and for that Shunsui was grateful.

They slunk back away, and when Shunsui could finally not feel the distinctive pain and hunger of the Hollows, he said, "They seem to have filled the valley. There's hundreds of them of all levels of power."

"Shit," Saito said softly as they started the run back to the village. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. How are we gonna get help? I mean, I know you're Academy students, but I don't think you could take those on."

"I can't imagine taking them on either," Shunsui replied dryly. "My friend has a Hell Butterfly we can send back to Shiba-sama, but we thought it was important to warn you first."

"Gods, yes, we can at least get to the tunnels. Maybe send someone back through them to Shiba-sama too."

"Right." Shunsui was relieved that he had managed to turn the other man's thoughts to what he could do rather than what he couldn't, and the rest of the run back was accomplished in silence.

To his surprise, Saito didn't go directly to the town square and ring the alarm: instead he went to Arai's house first. Fifteen minutes of argument ended up in the old man going out to the town square.

Jyuushiro murmured, "It's that hierarchy thing, isn't it?"

Shunsui nodded and sighed. "It might get them killed, this delay."

"Well, at least I got enough of a rest I can help delay the Hollows if it comes to that."

"I hope it doesn't," Shunsui said fervently, even as old Arai got up and started telling everyone they had to evacuate. He was grateful when Arai motioned Saito up to the platform, not the two students, as the eyewitness, and all the villagers ran back to their homes. One slight woman with short-cut bangs, long black hair, and dark eyes watched them instead of the village elder. Shunsui looked at her, and she looked away.

"We should be going in an hour. We'll have to move in the dark and pray the Hollows don't roam further in the night," Saito said when he came back up to the students. "Can you do that... whatever-fly thing, to tell Shiba-sama?"

"Oh, right. Jyuushiro, I told him you could probably contact Shiba-sam..."

Jyuushiro nodded. "I already have. Also sent one off to Yamamoto-sama as we were instructed to do. This is going to be a mess if there's actually an engagement: he didn't want to do this kind of thing until spring when everyone lent their forces for it. It'd be easier if there wasn't a fight yet."

"But our village! We have to be able to come back!" Saito cried.

"I dunno. Between being alive and having no home until spring, and being dead, I think I'd choose the first," Shunsui drawled.

Jyuushiro sighed, "I said it'd be easier, not that it had to happen. I suspect that if Shiba-sama charges into that mess, he's going to need some help getting out of it. So I sent a note to Kenshin, too, thought he should know and figure out what he could do as well."

"That's the last of your Hell Butterflies, isn't it?"

Jyuushiro nodded, his smile wry. "Yes, it is. I'll admit I didn't think they'd be so popular."

"Well," Shunsui sighed, then slapped Saito on the shoulder. "You'd better get going. We'll help cover your folks, but it's going to be a long night."


	32. The Caves

Jyuushiro heard crying from his spot in the middle of the stream of villagers.

When Shunsui found out that Shiba outlawed weapons or weapons training for the villagers, the names he'd called Shiba-sama had half the villagers running away from him in fear of retaliation. Saito had looked sympathetic, even as he showed Shunsui the collection of hoes, rakes, and other sharp farming implements that they did have.

There were no zanpakutou, of course. They were reserved for nobles.

Which mean that of the hundreds running for the caves, only the two of them could cleanse Hollows. So Shunsui took the rearguard, and Jyuushiro stayed with the center. The folks in front had whatever weapons they could get their hands on.

"And don't attack them if you see them, send for us," Shunsui ordered them.

Everyone nodded, looking frightened, but the villagers understood running away. They used push carts for their children, elderly, and whatever household items they needed in the caves. They brought along the domestic animals that pulled carts or simply followed them. Torches burned all along the long line of people, carts, and animals, and while Jyuushiro knew that it marked them more clearly for the Hollows, there was no way they were going to be able to do this without light.

Saito asked, "Should I have them bring you some food, too? If you're the only ones that can fight the things..."

Jyuushiro nodded. "Polished rice is easiest: it never spoils, and we'll be able to cook it anywhere. Dried fruit or meat would work as well."

"I'll have them bring what they can find."

"Thank you."

Saito grimaced. "It's the least we can do."

Jyyushiro was thinking all that over when he heard the crying by the side of the road. In the darkness of the underbrush, he found the small bundle nestled in a clump of soft mosses, not touching any of the clumps of snow that still lay under the shadows of the tree. He picked up the warm weight of the baby and felt reiatsu, weak and fluttering. Common people abandoned reiatsu-gifted children because they were too expensive to feed.

Swearing softly, vehemently, Jyuushiro cradled the baby in his left arm as he made his way back into the light. His pack was in one of the carts, as he had thought it was best to leave everything with the others but his water and his weapons. Jyuushiro sought out the cart he knew his stuff was in, and ignored all the eyes watching him. Instead of trying to hand the child off to anyone, he dug into his pack, pulled out one of the carrying cloths, and with a practiced motion, slung it about himself and the baby and started the harder task of tying the knot on top of his right shoulder.

Slender, cool hands intercepted his own. "Let me," said a woman's voice.

He let go of the knot, sliding his hand under the baby's body. The tiny thing curled in closer to his warmth, and the hands at his shoulder tied the sling good and tight.

"There."

"Thank you." Jyuushiro expected the person to disappear before he could turn around to thank her, but she was still there, looking at him with her head cocked a little to the side. She was slender and short, with deep black hair chopped flat just above dark eyes. Braids fell down her back, tightly wrapped in cloth. She had on the same farmer's clothing the others had, but she felt...

"You've done this before, warrior-sama," she said softly.

"I'm Ukitake Jyuushiro, you don't have to use that honorific for me." Jyuushiro couldn't get why she felt odd. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but he would have sworn he'd never seen her before.

She bowed low. "Oh, but I do, for you carry a blade, lord. You may call me Fong Jing Wei if you wish."

Jyuushiro felt his eyebrow rise. "You're from the western lands over the sea?"

She gave a smile and bowed again. "My family was from there, yes."

"Good to meet you, Fong Jing Wei-san."

She giggled, a silver sound in the night that turned other heads toward them for a moment. "No! No! That is too lofty for me. You have made me dizzy. If you must call me something, call me Fong, it will do."

Jyuushiro chuckled and nodded. "All right. I'll do that, then. And, yes, I'm accustomed to carrying my younger brothers and sisters." He automatically curled his left arm about the back of the baby and started walking down the path again.

"Should you try your sword, to see if she impedes you?"

"My sword?" Jyuushiro was startled. "I hadn't..." He drew the zanpakutou, let the baby's weight settle into the sling, and made two, three experimental swipes using both hands. He frowned at the swing of the baby's weight adding to the motions of this arm, and switched to having the blade in just his right hand. That worked better.

The woman stood back, watching him quietly. Then she moved forward. "What if you try this?" She moved the weight of the girl to Jyuushiro's back.

Jyuushiro had enough experience to know that it would stay there, even when pulling nets, so he put both hands on his sword. He swung for the head, side, and hand and nodded to himself. "That will do, but if they come at me from behind, she'll die."

"If you left her in the woods, her death would be even more sure."

The tiny bundle on his back's breath slowed and relaxed. She was now asleep. Jyuushiro sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. "You are correct, Fong. I am grateful for your help."

Fong smiled and bowed. "You're welcome, Ukitake-sama."

Jyuushiro watched her disappear back into the dark amid the slow stream of people, and was amazed to find that he couldn't find her if he tried. She looked to be of different stock than the rest of the people about him, with different features, and her stances and movement were different as well. He puzzled over her quietly as he walked, and it occupied him happily until he heard screaming.

Jyuushiro took two flash steps to the forefront of the long column of people.

* * *

At the rear of the column, Shunsui found himself surrounded by ardent admirers, the infirm eldest, and most of the herd animals. It was a bewildering mix, but the slowest of the slow always ended up at the back of the column, and they kept just getting slower.

It wasn't until a young boy came running that he realized just how _far _back he and the rear of the column had gotten. The boy bowed over, gasping for air for a precious half a minute before he was able to straighten up enough to tell Shunsui, "H- Hollows...up front, sir! Ukitake-sama...Ukitake-sama's hurt bad! Help?"

Shunsui flash-stepped to the fore and swore as he startled a goat and two women. Screams rang in his ears as he took a step to the side so as to not get butted by the damned goat, before he could take another flash step forward. A tree root tried to trip him, but he got over that, and then he was at the fore. Screaming filled his ears again.

The white flash of light against bone drew Shunsui's attention, and he attacked, both swords free from scabbards before he even realized what it was. His arms moved in a sweep of motion that took the Hollow to dust before it even saw him. A villager was moaning on the ground, blood from wounds in shoulder and arm flowing, his torch guttering on the cold earth; but another flash caught the corner of Shunsui's eye, and there was an explosion of reiatsu.

Jyuushiro.

Despite reports to the contrary, Jyuushiro was up, grimly wiping blood from one eye, and fighting surrounded by half a dozen Hollows. They shone white in the darkness, making them easy to see, even when the crowd of torch-bearing villagers huddled as far away as they could get. There was something tied around Jyuushiro's upper body, and at first Shunsui was afraid that it was some kind of bandage, but then he heard an angry wail and realized that, of all things, it was a baby strapped to Jyuushiro's back.

Shunsui growled and swept into the Hollows from behind.

He got three of them before they even knew he was there, and Jyuushiro finished a fourth that was too eager to kill him. The last two whirled to face Jyuushiro and Shunsui together before both Hollows broke and ran. Without a word, both students whirled and took them down from behind. When they blew to dust, Jyuushiro staggered.

Jyuushiro righted himself when the baby wailed again, and Shunsui felt the signatures of another group of Hollows appear on the path before the whole group, as well as the tiny but whole signature from the baby on Jyuushiro's back.

Startled, he traded a glance with Jyuushiro, who simply shrugged back at him, panting. "She's better than I am at figuring out where they are."

Shunsui shook his head and laughed. "Is that why you picked her up?"

Snorting, Jyuushiro shook his head, "You know why I picked her up."

"Yes. Yes, I do," Shunsui said more seriously. "Is she impeding your fighting ability at all?"

"Not that I can tell," Jyuushiro said, "But I'm sure that she is, I'm just so aware of her all the time."

"Well, here they come."

"Right."

The group of Hollows had no chance against them, especially once curious villagers with torches came nearer to light the scene. The students' training stood them in excellent stead against hungry, angry spirits who only had aggression and sharp talons. Counter-attacks made quick work of them, and Shunsui consciously avoided the extra work of blocking clumsy or over-eager strikes. Jyuushiro's presence at his side was reassuring, and they knew each other's positioning and motions by both intent and reiatsu. They slipped by the lurching Hollows, whirled around striking claws and gnashing teeth, and cleansed them.

Jyuushiro's single blade whirled through the mass of white and only dust followed. Shunsui counted eight of his own before the path was clear again, and suspected that Jyuushiro was as thorough.

That was when five big Hollows jumped them from the night-dark trees.

These were different. They probably had eaten a few of their brethren, not so many as to evolve, but enough to satiate their unthinking hunger. Not just ravening maws, these had planned the attack and stood back to see what Jyuushiro and Shunsui would do.

Shunsui frowned, remembering Jyuushiro's stagger and wondering just how badly the other man was wounded. It was oddly reassuring to have the baby between them, at both their backs, and Shunsui suddenly realized his fighting style was changed by her presence as well.

The Hollows circled, and automatically Shunsui and Jyuushiro started moving in the opposite direction, to keep them all within sight as much as possible.

Shunsui cursed when three of them came in at the same time, the move far too coordinated to be accidental. He managed to block one with his big blade and slipped his smaller blade into the mask of the Hollow on his left. Jyuushiro took two steps away from Shunsui, taking the one in front of him with a direct attack. Shunsui twisted to avoid the claws of the one that came from his right. He whirled and realized, suddenly, that his back was to one of the two that had held outside the immediate circle of violence.

Jyuushiro finished with a two-handed overhead swing, cleaving right through the mask of the Hollow before him. At that moment, the two remaining Hollows moved into join battle. This time, however, both students had their backs to the incoming attacks. Rather than focus on the one attacking him, Shunsui focused on the one attacking Jyuushiro, and felt Jyuushiro's intent change as well. Both kiai'ed at the same instant. Shunsui went for a two-sword swing, left to right, across the side of the Hollow before him. Its claws swung in the way, knocking aside the smaller blade, but the bigger one, with a screech of screaming metal, sliced right through the claw and embedded itself in the cheek of the Hollow's mask.

Behind him and to his side, Shunsui heard the distinctive thunk of a zanpakutou going into a mask, but then there was another meaty sound and a gasp from Jyuushiro. Shunsui growled, knowing it was the Hollow that had escaped Shunsui's right blade. The baby's wailing cut off abruptly and then turned into high-pitched, angry screams.

With a maddened fist, Shunsui pounded on the hilt of the stuck sword. It went a full inch deeper, and the bone freed Shunsui's blade as it turned to dust. He swung around and saw Jyuushiro hanging from meat-hook claws before Shunsui's smaller blade snapped into the Hollow's right eye socket. It dropped Jyuushiro when it turned to dust.

The baby wriggled frantically in the cloth on Jyuushiro's back.

Shunsui was shaking too hard to pick her up. A black-haired woman suddenly appeared, undid the knot on Jyuushiro's shoulder, and scooped up the baby with one hand to set her aside, while flipping Jyuushiro over with a move that looked far too smooth to have been done for the first time. The blackness of blood wept from holes in cloth and skin.

Shunsui dropped to his knees beside his friend's limp body, his hands opening, dropping his blades to hover over Jyuushiro. Frantically he searched his mind for healing kidou, and suddenly, right next to him bloomed a cold sharp source of reiatsu, hard and powerful under the thin wailing thread of the baby's.

It was the woman.

"Who the hell are you?" Shunsui rasped. "And can you do healing kidou?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him, and then sighed as screaming started in the line of villagers behind him. "I was here to see if you two would do the right thing. Now that you have, I am free to do as I wish."

The green of healing kidou glowed about her hands. Shunsui only had the time to think that she hadn't even had to say any words, when Jyuushiro's eyes opened, and the growling roar of more Hollows was loud enough to hear.

"Do you have a zanpakutou?" Shunsui asked the woman.

"I'm a commoner!" she shot back and then yelped when Shunsui slapped his smaller wakazashi into her hand.

"Take this, then, and keep them moving," he snarled. She took it, blinking at him, as he shunpo'ed away.

* * *

Jyuushiro bit his lip hard when he sat up: the pain along his side and gut wasn't quite as terrible as when the Hollow had grabbed him, but it burned when he moved. An earlier hit to the head made the world fuzzy and gave it a tendency to whirl when he moved too fast; however, the very first thing he did was to change Fong's grip on Shunsui's sword, so that she had her hand properly wrapped about the hilt rather than dangling it like some dead fish.

She blinked at her hand, at him, and then in something approaching alarm. "It's... no... she's talking to me!"

"She?" Jyuushiro coughed, but managed to stop the next one. Each cough made the pain worse, and he didn't think that if he got started he'd be able to stop.

"Yes. Oh... goodness." Fong's eyes went wide. "She's not particularly polite, either, is she?"

Jyuushiro shook his head. "I would not know, Fong Jing Wei. Shunsui's zanpakutou hasn't ever spoken to me. How well have you knit my wounds?"

Fong looked up, dark eyes wide. "Uhm... just enough to hold them together for now. You can't do anything too strenuous."

"I shall be careful then," Jyuushiro said, slowly sitting up again, and breathing more easily as the injury relented. The baby was quiet, watching both of them with dark eyes. As was common with the infant dead, this one seemed to know far more than she could say. The ruckus at the back of the line had died down, and Jyuushiro could only assume that Shunsui had dealt with whatever happened back there.

"All right, let's keep everyone moving," Jyuushiro said softly, as he realized that most of the villagers were still cowering under the trees. He tried to lift the baby in her sling, and stopped when felt like a red hot wire suddenly stabbed him through the gut. "Oh, lord. This isn't going to work, is it?"

"No," Fong's answer was clipped. "But I have an answer. Come here, girl," she cooed, and lifted the baby in her sling. The baby cooed back and gurgled. "Good girl. You want to help us, sweetie?"

A little fist waved in the air. Fong giggled and looked all of fourteen for a moment to Jyuushiro's eyes. Then she straightened.

"All right, you farmers, which one of you wants something that can warn you, early, if the Hollows are coming?"

Three of the villagers in the trees suddenly moved toward Fong. "Good then, here... take her."

Dryly, Jyuushiro added, "If she starts crying, draw back and have someone get one of us, and we'll take care of what she finds before you run into it. Right?"

Two farmers now hung back. A big strapping man with a gap tooth chuckled, "Well, Dad named me Hiroshi, sir, so I'll take her. Seemed a damned shame anyway." He turned so that Fong could help him put the sling on. The baby murmured softly and settled in as he strode back to his group and started shooing them out of the trees.

Relieved, Jyuushiro cast about for the other farmers, Fong a quiet shadow at his back. When there were some folk too far up a hill for him, he simply gestured in that direction, and she disappeared. When she returned with them in tow, he nodded.

"Thank you. I would be more comfortable if you stayed near me until we see if you can take on a Hollow with that blade, Fong-san," Jyuushiro said absentmindedly. "I may not be at full battle capacity, but I can help you out."

Fong shivered once, an all over body motion, and grimaced. "I'm not going to be able to get used to this."

"To what?"

"You youngsters giving me what you should not."

"You're capable, are you not? You have reiatsu and even kidou, you should be able to carry a zanpakutou."

"Able and allowed to are very different things," she said, tone acerbic.

Jyuushiro shrugged. "If we didn't give you the allowance, we'd be more likely to die tonight. Giving you an edge, you may well be able to take care of what we cannot, with so many to protect."

Both their heads came up as a single thread of Hollow wrongness came to them from the left, in the trees. It wasn't particularly strong, but it was definitely there. From the farmer's back the baby chirped an inquiring note.

"Shall we?" Jyuushiro said politely.

Fong laughed. "You sound as if we're going to dance."

Jyuushiro grinned. "Perhaps we will. Just hit the mask, it's the easiest way to cleanse them."

"Yes, sir," she said, and Jyuushiro frowned at how oddly good that felt.

Together, they flash-stepped toward the threat. Jyuushiro was surprised and pleased to find that, if anything, Fong could go further than he could and faster. They arrived in just two jumps, and the Hollow started when they arrived.

She hesitated, and then the Hollow started to run. Jyuushiro took a quick flash step, ending up in front of the fleeing creature. He drew his sword, and Jyuushiro felt the spirit of his zanpakutou leap up in eagerness. The Hollow took one look, whimpered, and fled back toward Fong.

Wondering if he'd done the right thing, Jyuushiro watched in growing horror as the Hollow got closer and closer to the slender woman. Yoruichi and Kisuke had proven that a gifted child with someone else's zanpakutou could cleanse a Hollow, but Jyuushiro didn't know if this woman had the wherewithal to make the cut without getting killed. Just as he was about to try and leap forward to bring the rushing Hollow down from behind, he saw the glint of Shunsui's small sword, and at the very last instant Fong put the point forward, right at the forehead of the in-rushing Hollow.

The blade cracked the mask. It blew to dust before Fong fell to her knees. Jyuushiro sprinted over to her, but had to stop at the pain in his side. "Oh, we are... a pair," he gasped. "You are all right?"

"Y...y...yes," she stammered, and from closer, Jyuushiro could see she was shaking. "I'm... it was... I tried to strike at the last instant, to let it... but... terrified now. Which seems entirely wrong... I should have been terrified... before, right?'

"Well, I'm glad you chose to do it the other way around. Much more useful," Jyuushiro said with a chuckle as he finally started to catch his breath.

She started laughing, and it turned into tears. Jyuushiro managed the rest of the distance to her, and held her gently as she cried the last of her terror out. She wiped her eyes against Jyuushiro's stained robes and sighed. "Well, it worked."

"Indeed," Jyuushiro said quietly, thinking about the limitations of this particular capacity, and strategically trying to figure out what might be best. All he could come up with was to just keep everyone moving toward the caves. "It's enough. You now know you can if you have to cleanse one."

"Yes," Fong said shakily.

"Is that enough for you to keep the head of this line moving toward the caves?"

She thought for a long moment before answering. Then Fong nodded, bangs covering her eyes. "Yes. I think so, sir. It's only another half a mile, and we'll be there."

"Good. I'll go back along the line to see how Shunsui is doing, but you need to keep them going."

"All right, sir, I'll do my best."

"That's all anyone can ask," Jyuushiro said softly. "Go on."

Seeing her go off into the shadow of the trees, Jyuushiro had a moment of _déjà vu_. The feeling made him shiver, and he had no idea why or how he could remember such a thing or such a feeling, but there it was.

Leaving the woman to her choices and her powers, Jyuushiro went to find his friend and companion.

* * *

There were only two other fights before Shunsui and Jyuushiro saw the end of the long line of peasants disappearing into the mouth of the caves. Both were just small clumps of Hollows, with one or two of the higher-powered ones leading them. In both cases, Shunsui and Jyuushiro had managed to cleanse everything, so that none of the Hollows could go back to the main gathering.

They ended up bringing in the rear of the column. Jyuushiro was now limping as well as favoring his injured side, and he had to stop now and then just to let the dizziness subside. Shunsui sported a cut down his left arm that had only just stopped bleeding. Jyuushiro sighed at the push carts filled with the dozen injured and three dead villagers they hadn't been in time to save.

Saito walked with them. He looked at Jyuushiro with a tilt of his head.

"I'm sorry..." Jyuushiro started, and then trailed off, not quite knowing what to say.

The villager shrugged. "If you hadn't been here, we would have all died. Sticks and hoes weren't doing shit against 'em."

Shunsui grunted. "Maybe this will be cause for Shiba to give some of you guys zanpakutou."

Saito laughed, "No, he'll just be mad at us for moving before he got to the village to protect us."

"But the village is already overrun, isn't it?"

"Aye. Kato's boy said the village is already flooded with 'em."

"So how does that make any sense?"

Bluntly, Saito said, "Because if Shiba-sama says it's so, then it is."

Both of the students just blinked at Saito, and he burst out laughing. "You're not used to Lords and Ladies, are you?"

"Well, I am," Shunsui murmured. "But I'm used to them not making an entirely different kind of sense. This is just..."

"...horrifying," Jyuushiro finished, his lips pressed thin in anger.

Saito shook his head at the two of them. "No, it's just what peasants are for. Feeding a few Hollows isn't a terrible thing, if we hold 'em up long enough for the Lords to get there and be heroes."

"No one should have to be sacrificed," Jyuushiro said hotly.

Saito drew back and shrugged, "As you like, but you got hurt doin' it. Not everyone's so self-sacrificing, you know?"

Shunsui just sighed, and Jyuushiro wondered what he was thinking. Then the mouth of the cave loomed up, and they passed under and into the damp darkness. The stars were cut off and the air grew still. Then Jyuushiro sniffed hard, as he caught the scent of something with meat and onions. Shunsui's stomach growled, loud enough for Jyuushiro to hear.

That was when Jyuushiro saw Fong again, curled up in a shadow at the side of the tunnel. She was perfectly hidden in the darkness, and but for the shine of Shunsui's blade, Jyuushiro wouldn't have spotted her at all.

"Fong," he said softly, and bowed to her. "You are here safely."

She smiled and uncurled from her watch position. "Aye. We're making food, too."

Shunsui sighed, looked at the woman and Jyuushiro. "Is this the only way in to where everyone else is staying?"

Fong nodded. "Aye, sir."

"Then I'll take the first watch here," Shunsui said, sinking to sit by the wall. Jyuushiro blinked at the bigger man. "What?"

Jyuushiro held back a demand to be allowed the first watch when he realized he just wouldn't be of any use. "I'll bring food, someone to dress that arm of yours, and if I get my side looked at, you'll let me have the next one?"

With another rumble of his stomach, Shunsui gave Jyuushiro a wry smile. "Yes."

"What about me?" Fong asked with a tilt of her head.

"You have," Jyuushiro said softly. "But you know the villagers, and know whom I can ask for more healing help and how to get food for all of us, knowledge that I do not possess, as of yet. So you're more valuable coming with me rather than holding up that rock wall."

Shunsui snorted softly but when the woman looked at him he nodded as well. "Go on. I'll stay here."

They went.

Hiroshi stirred a big pot over the fire, as the baby fussed in a low, aggravated tone at his chest, cloth wiggling. Further in the cave Jyuushiro heard voices, though a few dozen people huddled near the warmth of the fire. Looking up, Jyuushiro saw the smoke disappear into the darkness of the roof of the cave, which was so far up he couldn't see any detail.

Jyuushiro and Fong moved to the fire as well, and got a big gap-toothed grin. "Just 'bout done. Thought'cha might need somethin' after all that fightin'. Everyone else is settin' up camp in the deeper caves. Find yer gear."

"Aye," Jyuushiro said, and the two of them went back into the chaos of dozens and dozens of families spreading out and finding a space for themselves in all the nooks, crannies, and hidden spaces of the caves. Oil lanterns had come out, as the torches were too smoky, so the enclosed space smelled of burnt fish oil, but it all looked like some mid-winter night fair. Children ran about playing, dogs chased them, and mothers scolded. Jyuushiro grinned and shook his head. "People..." he muttered.

Fong just chuckled. She led him right to where his and Shunsui's packs were, and he fished out their eating gear. Then she brought him to an elderly man, who looked up at Jyuushiro with peaceful eyes. White-haired, spry, and smoking a pipe, he tilted his head at Fong's approach, and Jyuushiro could detect a faint hint of reiatsu coming from him.

"Itsuke-san," she murmured, eyes down and bowing. "Would you be so kind as to see to this man's wounds and the wounds of his companion?"

"Of course, of course," Itsuke popped up, darted over to a pile of things, and came out with bandages, some pots, and baskets filled with things. He came back over to Jyuushiro and then bowed to him. "Yamada Itsuke at your service. May I look, warrior-sama?"

"Uhm... actually, I'd like you to see to my friend, first, as he has to keep watch for the early part of the night."

The little doctor nodded, and put his things in a carrying cloth.

"If you want dinner, there's food, too."

"Oh! Very nice," Yamada said and got a bowl as well.

They went back to the front cave, and both filled bowls of mixed vegetables, fish, and rice. Hiroshi was feeding the baby, bits of gruel on his big fingertips going into her eager mouth. "Only way I know it's cool enough," he said apologetically, but grinning when the girl gurgled and grabbed as he gave her more.

Shunsui sprawled across the stone at the entrance, but sat up when he saw them coming, nose up in the air to sniff. "Ah... glad you made it."

"This is my patient?" Yamada asked, blinking at Shunsui. "Big, aren't you?"

Shunsui just nodded gravely. "Can I eat while you work?"

"Certainly."

"Thank the Lords of Darkness and Fire," Shunsui said reverently and took the bowl Jyuushiro offered him.

Fong and Jyuushiro sat near-by, and while there was a winces, whines, and flinches from Shunsui, they were all quiet while they inhaled the food. The little doctor dressed Shunsui's arm and then came to Jyuushiro, who lay back and let him poke, prod, and mutter spells over him. The little man bandaged Jyuushiro's head, and tied a thick compress on top of the claw marks that still distorted Jyuushiro's skin. Checking Jyuushiro's ankle, he muttered a quick spell over it, and the pain that had been nagging him went away.

"I think that should do it," Yamada said and gave them all a small bow.

Bowing back over their food, the three chorused, "Thank you very much." The little doctor disappeared back into the darkness of the caves.

Jyuushiro spread his sleeping gear right there, and was about to lie down when he heard the baby start to wail. Shunsui, Fong, and he all exchanged a look, and Shunsui grimly got up to face out in the passage. Jyuushiro went back towards the baby, as there was something about the crying that was strangely familiar.

When he arrived, big Hiroshi was holding the tiny baby like she might explode. As Jyuushiro got closer, he laughed. She had... in a way. "Oh, right... she ate," he said, and shook his head. "Do you know how to change diapers?"

Giving Jyuushiro a horrified look, Hiroshi shook his head. "I never thought about _that_..."

"Right. Here... let me show you. I've done plenty of those," Jyuushiro said, finding himself tired, but without a real threat, oddly content. A small boy was running by, and Jyuushiro neatly snagged him with a quick hand to the back of his collar. "Wait. I need help. Can you tell the two people at the entrance cave that there's no need for alarm? She just needs a diaper change."

"Sure!" The child scampered away in generally the right direction.

Then Jyuushiro helped Hiroshi clean and change the fussy baby, hoping the other two would sleep.

As they worked, Jyuushiro said quietly, "You know, Yamamoto-sama's new Academy would be a perfect place for her when she's grown."

"I'd heard that there was going to be such a place, but Shiba-sama thought it was only for his children. Now that I've seen you guys in action, though, I am glad, especially now that she's mine to keep for a while." Hiroshi added, almost shyly, "I hope you don't mind, but I've figured out a name for her."

"Certainly I don't mind," Jyuushiro said. The baby watched them both, though her eyes drooped with tiredness.

"I was thinking Masuyo," Hiroshi said. "Since she's helping as best she can."

Jyuushiro smiled, and the baby cooed quietly in his arms, quiet and clean. "I like that. All right, Masuyo, you can go to sleep, girl. We're watching."

The baby drifted off, and Jyuushiro put her in a small blanket nest by Hiroshi's bedroll. "Keep her safe," he said softly.

"I will. Just as you keep us," Hiroshi said.

Jyuushiro nodded in acknowledgment, and then went back by where Shunsui kept a quiet watch. Wordlessly, he crawled into his blankets and curled up in them. The touch of a big hand along his back settled him.

"Thank you, Shunsui," he murmured.

"You're entirely welcome, Jyuushiro. I'm just glad we're both alive."

Jyuushiro made a grunt of assent, and the slow, soothing strokes of Shunsui's hand sent Jyuushiro quickly and quietly to sleep.

* * *

_Author's Note: Thank you for your patience. I have been busy with a couple of novels that I've been writing with darkprism, and finally got the chance to get this done and posted. There are a few more chapters that I've already plotted out. I will finish this. 3 _


	33. Convergence

Awakening happened far too soon for Shunsui; however, it was to the scent of food. There were two bowls near Shunsui's head that held something that smelled so good his stomach growled. He got up, devoured what he found, and then went to get a quick, cold wash of his face and hands.

Jyuushiro lay asleep near Shunsui's bedroll, his face to a wall. Fong handed Shunsui his short sword, sleepily curled up in her blankets, and soon settled in the dark. Shunsui turned the wakazashi in his hands, feeling the scabbard and weight of it as he hadn't before. It was odd feeling the girl's intent, much less her hands, on his sword. The moment when she'd cleansed the Hollow with it, Shunsui had felt a pang of something like joy.

Shunsui also knew that the woman had cleansed two Hollows from the shadows of the trees. She'd helped the peasants without letting them know what she had done, and he wondered why she'd done it that way. His zanpakutou's spirit had enthused happily about her technique and stealth compared to his clumsy bulk.

_Is she hiding something?_ Shunsui asked, wondering if his sword would even know.

The agile, flexible spirit of the smaller blade laughed with a sound in Shunsui's head like steel skittering down glass. _Of course she is! She doesn't want them to know that she's armed! They think of her as a friend, and she wants to keep it like that._

Shunsui blinked, not having equated friendliness with being unarmed before.

_Yes, you have, brother._ The smaller spirit chuckled. _Like when you get stinkin' drunk or feign foppishness or any of a dozen possible tricks to let people think you're helpless. It's like us using the shadows!_

The deeper sardonic voice he was used to, murmured, _Brother, 'tis best to be underestimated. Whomever her lord is, we should spend time talking with him_.

That was plenty of fodder to keep Shunsui awake as he watched the entrance. Only a very few villagers voluntarily left the safety of the caves. Night soil and garbage had to be hauled out. Water came in through a natural spring in the back of the caves, so at least that didn't have to be hauled in. Saito had gone out on his own to scout out what had happened in the village's wake.

A few hours into Shunsui's watch, Saito staggered back gasping for air. "Some... something's coming!"

Shunsui frowned. "How big?"

"There's dust as high as the mountain!"

Shunsui shook Jyuushiro gently. Green eyes opened, focused.

"Something is coming. We'd best face it together."

A nod. "Right." Finding it painful to watch Jyuushiro rise, Shunsui turned away and saw dark eyes watching him from the shadow.

"You stay here," he said firmly.

"Why?" Fong asked, a tilt to her head.

Shunsui handed her back his smaller blade and didn't react when her slender fingers closed over the hilt. Fong sighed, shoulders sagging, and the little sword spirit murmured comfort.

"Yes. That's why," Shunsui said with a quirked grin. "If we fall, someone has to hold this narrow point as long as they can. It's not really to spare you, Fong"

"What good will it do?" Fong asked pensively.

"We called for help from Shiba, the city, and the mountains. Someone has to be coming. You are making it so that they'll have something to do when they get here."

Her eyes widened in comprehension.

The little sword spirit boasted, _We'll protect them, boss. Just don't be lazy and let 'em get by you in the first place!_

Shunsui shook his head even as Fong looked shocked. "You can hear her?"

"When I'm holding her, yes."

"And here I thought they were all just in _my_ head. All right." Jyuushiro stood by them, watching curiously. "Let's go."

* * *

Saito hadn't been exaggerating. Shunsui's forlorn hope died on seeing the plume of smoke, dust, and ash shadow the sun over the trees at the entrance to the caves. The booming echoes of kidou and reiatsu use at a vast scale came from the direction of the village itself.

"Do you think that might be Shiba's work?" Jyuushiro asked, eyes narrowing.

"It might. If so, then they're driving the Hollows straight at us."

Saito looked at the two of them. "You're crazy. That's way too big for Shiba's forces. There aren't enough troops to make a plume that big."

"Can you feel the reiatsu? The spiritual power being put into play out there?" Jyuushiro asked, curiously.

"What?" Saito asked, blinking in alarm. "Uhm. No. Not at all, I'm talking about the dust...unless...oh kami of stone, rock, and flood...unless all that's from the Hollows comin' at us."

"How can we tell?" Shunsui asked.

"You're probably going to have to go and find out what you feel with respect to reiatsu and powers, Shunsui," Jyuushiro said with a sigh. "You're the better sensitive, and I'm not going to be able to make it that far and get back quickly enough. I'll stay with Fong, and hold here, if needed."

Shunsui sighed. "I hate this," he said quietly. "I'd feel better if you went with me, but you're right, you know?"

"Yes," Jyuushiro said, and when Shunsui thought he was done, he quirked a grin and added, "Besides, I'd hate it if we both died because you had to come back for me."

"There is that."

Saito jittered. "You two...do you want me to go with you... uhm... sir?"

"No. You'll just get eaten," Shunsui said with a frankness that made Jyuushiro frown at him, but brought a deep sigh of relief from Saito. "Stay here with everyone else. Help defend the opening."

"All right." Saito didn't need to be told twice, and he sprinted for the caves.

"We should have told him to not panic everyone else," Jyuushiro said with another sigh. "It's going to be chaos in there, now. I'll have to go in and manage that."

"Well, there's one advantage to him bolting," Shunsui said with a grin.

"What is that?"

Shunsui leaned forward and kissed Jyuushiro gently on the lips. Jyuushiro's eyes widened in surprise, but he gave a soundless huff of laughter that Shunsui could feel and then kissed back, slow and sweet. The slow caress made Shunsui feel better, calmed him over the thought of leaving Jyuushiro here.

When they broke the kiss, Jyuushiro looked at Shunsui gravely. "Good fighting."

Shunsui rolled his eyes. "Thanks, I think." When Jyuushiro laughed, Shunsui shook his head, grinned, and ran towards the giant plume of dust and power.

* * *

Taking the path along the back of the ridge, as he had when he and Jyuushiro had skirted the other gathering of Hollows, Shunsui found, only a mile away from the caves, Hollows covering the valley floor. They were mostly going in the same direction, like a herd of sheep, but to Shunsui's dismay, many of them stopped to eat each other. He'd heard of such behavior from his father and brother when they'd gone out on Hollow hunts; but he'd never seen it for himself. The predators grew visibly each time they ate a fellow soul, and some started sprouting spurs, longer claws, or sharper teeth.

A few Hollows scattered up along the slopes, perhaps those more independent-minded than their brethren or just more afraid. His reiatsu should have drawn them to him like ants to sugar, but he kept the ridge between him and them. The stone helped as shield and cover. One Hollow surprised him, though, as it came over the ridge.

It reared back and then charged him, claws first. He had to block them once and then again before he got a clear swing at the mask. Luckily for him, it was silent when it fought. Shunsui, however, cursed the fact he was missing his short sword, when he could have used it for a quick finishing stroke. Instead, he had to push the claws far enough away from his body to get a good crack at the mask, and the extra effort opened him to a swipe of the other hand's worth of claws. His edge struck first, and the Hollow whispered away into dust.

Shunsui frowned and studied the steady stream of Hollows in the valley.

Last night there hadn't been that much thought about the simplicity of the route; they'd been too relieved when they moved all those people into shelter. Now the Hollows were following the same path. It made Shunsui's decision difficult. He could go further, scouting out exactly what had happened at the village and who was there to rescue everyone, but that would mean leaving the Hollow horde alone. Without some effort on his part, the Hollows would reach the caves before Shunsui could get back from scouting.

"You need some help with that?"

Shunsui blinked, glanced over and saw Ryuu Hayato perched, cross-legged, on top of a boulder nearly twice Shunsui's height. At the foot of the boulder stood Daisuke-san. Both had packs on their backs, zanpakutou at their belts, and dust all over them. The really odd thing was that instead of being in the usual Academy whites, both men were wearing black.

"You and what army?" Shunsui asked sardonically.

"That one," Hayato pointed out over the valley, sounding entirely too smug. He stood on the narrow top of the rock. "Come on up here. You can see them."

"I might land on you," Shunsui warned, and then took a shunpo step up to the top of the rock. When he landed wrong, he nearly took both of them off the top of the rock. Swearing, Hayato shoved back and then tugged and got them both steady. When he was sure he wasn't just going to plummet off, Shunsui turned to look.

A river of white Hollows filled the entire valley, growing steadily denser the further they went back, until it was so white it nearly gleamed. Then, at the far end, in deep contrast to the white, was a pool of black, people. Lots of people, coming out and pushing back the whiteness.

"Oh, that's why you're wearing black," Shunsui said as he finally put two and two together.

"Yes, indeed. It is far easier to distinguish friend from foe when all the Hollow bone is dead white, and all the shinigami wear black," Daisuke said.

"Shinigami?" Shunsui tasted the word and chuckled. "Death gods that are all already dead, hm? That's intriguing."

"Well, Yamamoto suggested it as a title for anyone that decided to take the same uniform and fight in the same cause when we found out that Shiba was in trouble." Hiyato said thoughtfully. "Did you know that that idiot Shiba went after his villagers in the dark hours just before dawn? He didn't wait for us, even though Yamamoto-sama sent a butterfly to him to wait, that forces were coming that could help. If he had we would have been several hundred stronger, and he had good, trained troops that he basically threw away into _that_."

Shunshi felt a hot flash of rage at Shiba for the troops who were led into that deathtrap for the sake of one Shiba lord's pride, and hot on its heels was contempt at Hayato for treating them as nothing more than game pieces on his board of a war. It took him two breaths to steady himself, another one before he could come up with an appropriate question instead of some cry of frustration. He managed, "Who has joined Yamamoto?"

"Ryuu, Shihouin, and Kuchiki, though they all say that it's for Shiba's sake, not Yamamoto's, and the damned Hatsuzora decided to send their own independent forces along for the ride. Problem is that they don't follow any orders we give them until it's relayed through some pompous ass of a high-born cousin on their Clan leader's mother's side or something ridiculous like that." Hayato's scorn was clear.

Daisuke-san chuckled. "Well, so long as they hold the flank they're given, I don't care if they make their troop calls through a painted geisha girl."

That made Shunsui chuckle, but then he sighed. "The village you guys went through?"

"Yes?" Daisuke-san seemed to brace himself. "It was empty when we went through."

"I should hope so. Jyuushiro and I got them out, and ushered them up into some caves at the end of this passage." Shunsui saw the old man relax. "Problem is that it's a straight shot, and these Hollows are taking it."

"Any ideas on how to stop them?" Hayato said. "The troops are digging in for the fight, so it's going to be slow going for them, and these Hollows are just running away from the action."

Shunsui studied the slope under their feet. It was another scree slope, like the one above the village. Remembering his descent off that damned piece of rock, Shunsui got an idea. "Huh...how about if we block the valley below with rock? Maybe pick a place where there's a passage or break along that slope, as that direction heads away from the caves."

"Huh. That might actually work," Hayato said. "These mountains are pretty young, yet, lots of loose stuff might slide all together. What if we toss this rock down?" He patted their perch.

"Kenshin could move it easily, but he had to stay at the Shiba estate, because Shiba-sama got hurt pretty badly in their attempt," Daisuke said thoughtfully. "Their family has always specialized in earth-moving kidou. We might have to improvise, or find rocks that are a bit more finely balanced than this one."

They searched the ridge, and found a set of big rocks that were unstable, across from a passage in the far wall. Together, they used the very first kidou taught at the Academy, Number One: Shou. Unleashing the pushing kido with all their spiritual strength, they got the rocks to roll down the slope, picking up rubble, rocks, dust, and all kinds of other debris as they went. It was a near avalanche by the time it hit bottom.

The Hollows scattered when the rocks started coming down, trampling each other in their rush. There were at least a hundred that got past the impromptu break in the valley, but the rest, when the dust began to settle, worked their way to the passage through the other side, and disappeared in that direction.

"When Yamamoto's forces make it this far, they can follow up. In the meantime, we'd best take care of the ones that have gone through." Daisuke-san leaned forward, and was startled when Shunsui put an arm across his chest before he could take a step.

"I had a really bad experience going down a scree field, yesterday. Can we please go down on the stone right over there?" Shunsui asked, pointing out a craggy and ragged looking rock face wall that had nice, solid looking landing points on it.

Hayato snickered, which made Shunsui wonder when Hayato had learned about loose rocks on a slope. The look he gave the Ryuu student made Hayato snicker again.

"Oh!" Daisuke-san said, "Certainly. We do not need another rock fall."

"Yes. Please."

They used shunpo down the step-like rocks, and their combined reiatsu made every maw left in this end of the valley turn toward them. The ones that were still worrying the Hollows trapped under the fallen debris ignored them. It made Shunsui retch twice when he saw one Hollow ripping pieces off another, so he tried hard to ignore them by concentrating on the fights that were coming to him.

Daisuke-san whirled his sword and murmured, "Takekaze, grow."

The zanpakutou grew in segments, becoming a green-ribboned naginata with a blade shaped like a bamboo leaf. The reiatsu pressure from Daisuke-san quintupled, so that Shunsui found it harder to breathe. Shunsui found that he could take five steps away from Daisuke-san's back. Hayato mirrored the movement at the other side of Daisuke-san's back, and they both faced the open end of the valley, while Daisuke-san faced the rock slide.

The seethe of energy from Daisuke-san seemed to drive the near Hollows into a slavering frenzy, and they charged.

Daisuke-san spoke firmly, "Takekaze, Wind Strike!"

When he swung the blade of the naginata down, a brilliant ten-foot long green streak of power followed the blow. The Hollow before him was split right in two, as were two of the four that were following it too closely behind. Limbs fell, Hollows screamed in rage, and then the fight got too crazy for Shunsui to follow logically.

Swinging his zanpakutou two-handed, Shunsui tried to ignore the swearing and poetry that spilled into his mind. The rhythm of the poetry, however, matched the strike and step of his motions, and he found himself slicing through Hollow masks; breaking bare dry bones; and trying to protect both Hayato and Daisuke-san's backs. The bamboo leaf blades sprayed out in the corner of Shunsui's eye, and half the field of bones went down into dust, and Shunsui found himself desperately wishing he could release his blade as well.

_So, you want power, brother? To defend your friends? Yourself? Those lovely little peasants who haven't even been taught to hold a blade?_ The inner voice wasn't mocking, and Shunsui could tell twenty tones of mocking from all his experience with his true eldest brother's oft-used tones.

_Yes_. Shunsui thought.

_Enough to hear my name?_ The seriousness of the tone made Shunsui pause right as a claw swiped at him. _I am..._ He turned, losing the sound of the spirit's voice, and took the strike on the hip instead of in the gut. Shunsui cursed at the pain and brought the blade around to go right through the bone mask.

_Damnit, spirit. Don't distract me in the middle of a fight like that._ Shunsui growled, and heard the sword spirit's rueful laughter.

Shunsui moved forward to take another Hollow down like swatting a fly, and he saw Hayato spinning and leaping, limbs whirling. The more slender Ryuu youth had to make up in speed what Shunsui had in strength, but they kept up with each other easily, cutting through the crowd of Hollows that came at them. They didn't dare leave Daisuke-san's back. Even when the rest of the Hollows turned tail to run.

Daisuke-san's reiatsu roared, and with his own enemies taken care of, Shunsui turned to see the last of Daisuke-san's opponents go down. There was scrabbling at the top of the pile of debris, and white claws started to come over.

"Our reiatsu is drawing them on," Hayato said in a tone of horror.

Hollow reiatsu spilled onto them like a waterfall. Cold and hungry, a gaping maw of energy that made Shunsui and Hayato go down on one knee. A slender figure in white bounded onto the top of the wall with ridiculous ease. Cocking its bone-beaked head, it stabbed down at the Hollows below it with long claws. To Shunsui's ears, the screams started sounding like the sea birds by Jyuushiro's home, and the slender figure above them chuckled in a sound that seemed far too much like real humor. It grabbed a Hollow, and ripped it apart to feed upon it, tossing scraps to other Hollows below.

"Oh, kami," murmured Shunsui in horror. "We're supposed to be death gods, compared to that thing?"

"Well, at least it's distracting them for a while, buying us some time to get the ones that have kept going, and for Yamamoto-sama to catch up," Daisuke-san said grimly. "I don't want to face it, but it seems content with its snack. Let's go."

He grabbed both boys' arms and hauled them the ten feet away from the wall they needed before they could stand up on their own two feet.

Then they ran.

They went down into the valley as quickly as they could. Shunsui found that he just couldn't bring himself to strike the Hollows from behind. Instead he popped up in front and hit them as hard as he could. Hayato did the same. Watching Daisuke-san take them down from behind as quickly and efficiently as he might have cut wheat disturbed Shunsui; but he couldn't fault the man when he came through it all unmarked. Shunsui got several cuts and a claw rip along his left shoulder. Hayato sported a slash on his right cheek, a gash on his left flank, and teeth marks on one side to show for his honorable approach as well.

They were breathing hard by the time they got within sight of the caves, and to Shunsui's horror, he saw four Hollows slip into the darkness ahead of them.

Then he felt a small hand take up the other half of his soul. He sighed in relief, "Good, they know."

Both Daisuke-san and Hayato turned to him with a frown and asked, "How do you know that?"

* * *

Masuyo started crying, a wail that wouldn't be hushed by food or a cuddle, and her clean dry diaper made Jyuushiro purse his lips.

"Hollows?" Fong asked with a tremble of her voice that Jyuushiro didn't miss.

"Probably," Jyuushiro answered, and he turned to the farmer. "Hiroshi, take her back into the caves. We just needed the warning. I think we can hold here, but tell the men with hoes and sickles to take the second narrow point, please?"

Hiroshi, looking troubled, took the baby back into the deeper caves. Masuyo's wails faded and died away, and the two of them were left at the narrow pass alone.

Jyuushiro said, "Stay behind me by at least six steps and get them if they get past me. All right?"

Fong nodded a fierce, small nod, and took up Shunsui's small blade. She suddenly blinked and said to Jyuushiro, "The blade says there's four of them coming, and Shunsui is almost here."

Jyuushiro's stance spread another half an inch, and he felt suddenly grounded by knowing. He cocked his zanpakutou over his head. "Thank you."

When the four Hollows came charging in, it surprised Jyuushiro that he only felt the heightened awareness that fights now brought him. There was very little fear. Everything seemed to slow, and he could tell that one was far enough out in front of the others, that it would be first. The two behind it were staggered, right then left, and the last was lagging and having a hard time keeping up with the others.

His zanpakutou's tip flashed, his body, his will, and each step he took all generating the power and speed for each strike. Center, right, left, and then a shot that followed the stagger of the last, bulky Hollow right through the mask. They didn't even have a chance to lay a claw on him or the woman behind him, and Jyuushiro sighed as he felt the soft patter of black dust against his white robes, streaking the pale cloth to gray.

"Oh, Kings and Judges," Fong said, staggering back a step only now that he had finished. "You're _fast_."

Jyuushiro shrugged and wiped his blade with his sleeve, leaving a black streak along it. "It's how the Academy trained us." He narrowed his eyes. "You should come and learn with us."

The look of horror in Fong's eyes was followed by a glance down the tunnel to the other caves. "Don't let them hear you say that."

"Why not? You really should. You can handle a zanpakutou. You can cleanse Hollows. You can do the work, and the training would only help you protect those that need it? Why is that so hard for you to accept?" Jyuushiro asked, frustrated.

"My place is elsewhere." Fong's lips pressed narrow, she crossed her arms and took two steps back.

"Well, it should be fighting as best you're able," Jyuushiro said, stubbornly.

That was when the grass-green reiatsu of Daisuke-san came to them from the entrance. Fong's eyes went wide, and she shoved the hilt of Shunsui's sword into Jyuushiro's hands. Jyuushiro nearly dropped the blade, but managed to wrap his hand about the hilt.

"What are you so worried about?" he asked. "It's just Shunsui and some of my classmates."

"Your classmates have reiatsu like that?" Fong asked, surprised.

"Oh, no," Jyuushiro said, as Daisuke-san, Shunsui, and Hayato came into sight. "That's my..."

Fong disappeared in a bang of flash step.

"...teacher."

* * *

"I can't go in." Hayato's lips whitened, as did his knuckles on the grip of his zanpakutou. They were standing in the vaulted entry cave, before the mouth of the smaller caves where the villagers camped. "Closed in spaces..." He shuddered. "Can't do it."

"You and fuckin' Kenshin," Shunsui growled. "What is it with you guys?"

"I can... I'll just stand on top of the mountain and yell when they're coming. How about that?" Hayato pleaded. "Not... I can't stay in there."

"The peak is indefensible, Hayato," Shunsui sighed.

"No..." Daisuke-san murmured and all the Academy students looked at him. He chuckled. "It's actually quite defensible. You can see what's coming at you for miles. A big force can only come in all together. He'll be able to see that large a gathering, give us warning, and then go into hiding, easily."

"That would be useful," Jyuushiro put in, and Hayato gave Jyuushiro a grateful look.

Jyuushiro was still wondering what had happened to the Fong woman, and why she'd disappeared the way she had. That reminded him of what he was carrying, and he handed the sword over to Shunsui.

Shunsui took it without a word. Daisuke-san pursed his lips.

"You _let_ Jyuushiro handle your zanpakutou?" Hayato's shock and dismay pulled him out of his misery.

"Of course," Shunsui said with a frown. "Why wouldn't I?"

"You two are very close, aren't you?" Daisuke-san murmured quietly.

For the first time ever, Jyuushiro saw Shunsui tongue-tied. The surprise, shock, and sudden confusion in those dark eyes made Jyuushiro say, quietly, "He actually lent it to a woman here, who has enough reiatsu to wield a zanpakutou and cleanse Hollows."

"Won't that contaminate your soul?" Hayato demanded. "Who is she that you'd let her do that?"

Shunsui pulled himself together to Jyuushiro's relief, and smirked at Hayato. "She's a beautiful petite thing, slender as a flower, hair as dark as night, and with eyes..."

Jyuushiro had a moment to be very grateful for Shunsui's reputation, and Hayato made a disgusted sound, but Daisuke-san's eyes widened.

"What is it, Daisuke-san?" Jyuushiro asked.

"Nothing, probably nothing. The woman I'm thinking of wouldn't be out in the countryside. She's strictly a creature of the city," Daisuke-san said, but he frowned as he said it.

Then Shunsui and Daisuke-san started at the same instant as a baby began to wail again in the depths of the caves. Jyuushiro closed his eyes and in the darkness behind his lids, he reached out and sensed them. Hundreds of them, empty and hungry. All headed in their direction, through an underground passage, and fluttering, falling, ragged, and torn, a living reiatsu ran before them.

Jyuushiro opened his eyes and met Shunsui's look. "Kaoru."

"Then where the hell is Kali?" Shunsui asked.

"I can't go in any further into the caves," Hayato wavered. "I'll stay here and...do what I can if they get past you."

"Right." Everyone nodded at Daisuke-san's confirmation. "Let's go."


	34. Betrayal

"Warn the villagers!" Jyuushiro yelled over his shoulder. Hayato's steps pelted in the opposite direction. Moments later, to Jyuushiro's relief, the clear tones of the village warning bell floated after them.

They sped through narrow tunnels, in the direction away from the Shiba lands. A long tunnel went into the rock from where they'd entered, and the Hollow reiatsu signatures were coming from further on, within the heart of the mountain. Striated rock walls slanted downward on either side of the stone-strewn path, and the illusion of a ceiling closing in on them made Jyuushiro very aware of the tons of rock over their heads. Lit torches stood in brackets, and Jyuushiro yanked one out of its socket. Shunsui glanced at him and followed suit.

The stink of Hollow energy lay ahead of them. Jyuushiro worried about the strength of the gathering, and the tattered, fluttering aspects of Kaoru's reiatsu flying ahead.

"May I go first?" Shunsui asked.

Daisuke-san nodded, and held out a hand for Shunsui's torch. "Don't look back at us, you'll be able to see better with the light behind you."

"Aye."

Shunsui strode forward. Jyuushiro and Daisuke-san followed. Jyuushiro wondered if there would be problems with Shunsui's shadow obscuring Shunsui's field of vision, but, with two light sources overlapping, Jyuushiro could see well into the darkness. A crisp clean autumn wind gusted, and Kaoru appeared, zanpakutou clenched in one fist.

"Behind me!" Shunsui barked.

Kaoru got just beyond Jyuushiro and Daisuke-san before he collapsed against a tunnel wall.

"Following..." Kaoru gasped.

"We can feel them, Kuchiki-kun," Daisuke-san said evenly. "Wait until..."

Kaoru shook his head, fighting for air. "There's too many. Thousands. Can't take them. Just run..."

"There are helpless villagers behind us," Daisuke-san said, pursing his lips. "We cannot allow the Hollows through, and this passage is narrow enough for one to hold."

Kaoru slumped and blood trickled to the stones. With a frown Jyuushiro knelt and found cuts on Kaoru's hip and side. He ripped two pieces of cloth from his robes, lay them on, and added pressure to stop the bleeding.

Three Hollows bounded into the torchlight, but, to Jyuushiro's surprise, they looked behind them, not at the warriors facing them. An enormous black hand shot into the tunnel, groped, and caught a Hollow. It yanked the screaming, white figure back and into a cavernous maw, easily mistaken for the tunnel itself. When the jaws closed down, Shunsui acted, stabbing at the mask of the bitten Hollow, and the lost soul went to dust. The Gillian sneezed, sending the torches into flickering spasms, and then bellowed in rage. A brilliant ball of light formed on its spindly black hands.

"Jump away!" Daisuke-san barked and fell away.

Jyuushiro fell on top of Kaoru, saw Shunsui sprawl the other way. A glowing green ball of energy shot down the center of the narrow cave and smashed into stone. Chips sprayed off in all directions, and a line of fire sliced across Jyuushiro's cheek. He shoved the handle of his torch into a crack in the wall, made sure it was firmly wedged in, stood up, and drew his sword. One of the escaping Hollows ran right at him, and a shimmering roil of motion rose in the back of Jyuushiro's head.

_Is it time?_ The two voices, speaking synchronously in Jyuushiro's mind, were curious and eager. Shunsui reflected Jyuushiro's motions, and the two students cleansed the two remaining Hollows that were mad with fear.

Daisuke-san sprang forward. The enormous Hollow had to crawl to fit into the tunnel, so its head was well within Daisuke-san's reach, but its arms were longer than the naginata.

"Grow, Takekaze!" A brilliant green streak of power lashed out at the Gillian, and the naginata split open a gash in one enormous shoulder. The thing bellowed, and when Daisuke-san closed in, talons lashed out. Blood hit the walls, and Daisuke-san stumbled back.

Remembering the Shihouin battlefield, and that the big Gillian weren't particularly agile, just powerful when they hit, Jyuushiro raced forward. Shunsui's reiatsu and tread were close behind Jyuushiro, so he set himself to leap for the shoulder that was already injured.

Jyuushiro flash-stepped, landed on a sloped shoulder slick with gore. He slid, compensated, and swung, two-handed, for the head that ponderously turned toward him.

_I think it is,_ Jyuushiro's zanpakutou murmured like a wave hissing on the shore. _Hear my name, Jyuushiro. You need my name._

It was damned distracting.

Jyuushiro followed through on his swing, and it was like hitting a brick wall with his blade. The rebound wrenched at shoulders, arms, and wrists. Wincing, Jyuushiro jumped, landed on the Gillian's back, took three quick steps to avoid reaching talons, and saw Shunsui follow with a two-bladed attack.

Shunsui's intent seemed tiny compared to the immense reiatsu of the huge Hollow, and the very logical part of Jyuushiro's mind added up all the numbers and said that the fight was impossible. But Shunsui's back arched, trained upper arms bunched and flexed, his will sharpened and grew more focused, and the keen edge of Shunsui's intent cut through the murk of Hollow reiatsu.

Jyuushiro's heart, his soul, his zanpakutou whispered _Yes, that is the way of it. Hope is brightest when there is no reason._

Shunsui's blade bit. Jyuushiro whirled, leaped, and landed, using all his will in a foot strike against the unsharpened back of Shunsui's zanpakutou. The edge sank into the bone mask: cracks appeared and spread further.

"Wind strike, Takekaze!" Daisuke-san shouted. He jumped overhead and struck, driving the point of his naginata into the weakening bone. The mask shattered. Jyuushiro's footing gave way. Careful of the bared sword, Jyuushiro bounced off one tunnel wall before landing heavily on his ass and one knee in the corridor.

"Back to the torch," Daisuke-san said, hoarsely. They all felt a sudden rise of Hollow reiatsu.

"You're hurt." Shunsui's tone was tight. Daisuke-san just shook his head.

They trotted back to Kaoru, who had levered himself back up to sit against the wall. Kaoru leaned into an arm, which he had pressed tightly against the wad of cloth Jyuushiro had left on his hip. Jyuushiro jammed the other torch a bit above and to the left of Kaoru.

"It is just a scratch. It surprised me," Daisuke-san said evenly, but he held his side firmly with his left hand. His head went up on alert. "They're coming."

And they did.

A trickle at a time, like sand through an hourglass, the Hollows came. Shunsui went at them, and on seeing Shunsui deal with the first two easily, Jyuushiro tugged Daisuke-san back into the tunnel and ripped strips off his robe. Daisuke-san grunted and let Jyuushiro wind a pressure bandage over the bleeding slashes as Daisuke-san stood, watching and ready to back up Shunsui. Shunsui never needed it. He was smooth, fast, and efficient in his motions. Nothing wasted. Sixteen Hollows fell before he walked back to them in a lull.

"My turn," Jyuushiro stated.

Shunsui nodded and knelt by Kaoru to address his injuries.

Jyuushiro stepped forward and found the situation to be surprisingly akin to facing the tedious line exercises Yamamoto-sama had insisted everyone do. Each student took on every single other students, one at a time, each with their own styles, their own attacks, their own methods of defense. The exercise was as much about endurance as it was about being flexible against varying opponents.

One Hollow rushed Jyuushiro with the same lack of training and regard as any beginner. Given that its talons weren't as long as Jyuushiro's sword, he went with a simple overhead swing. It whispered away into dust.

Next was a slender insect-type armored Hollow that charged him so fiercely that Jyuushiro fell back. With a shout, he recovered both initiative and his balance in time to make a quick right to left slash that cut deep into the Hollow's throat. He followed up with the finishing cut to the mask. The next two tangled each other up, shoulder slamming into shoulder, foot tripping foot, and Jyuushiro quickly relieved them of this existence. The next paused, halting the others behind it. Then it rushed him, talons lowered. Just as it came near to him, it slapped at his blade with the bone lance, and tried to use the same weapon to skewer Jyuushiro.

It was the same trick Shiba Kenshin always tried, and Jyuushiro found himself smiling as he evaded the slap, ducked, and sliced through the Hollow's body. But that move brought Jyuushiro forward, away from the lights of the torches, and two more Hollows closed on him from either side using a move that looked frighteningly smooth and coordinated.

"Jyuushiro!"

Jyuushiro felt rather than saw Shunsui's long zanpakutou flying toward him. He turned and caught the warm silk-wrapped hilt as it appeared just over his left shoulder. Using the momentum of the thrown weapon, he swung it overhead and down into one Hollow even as his body pivoted to face both squarely. His right-hand blade followed, cutting horizontally through the mask of the one charging in on that side. Steel hit stone and struck sparks into the darkness, and both his opponents blew to dust.

A tap fell on Jyuushiro's shoulder, and he stepped back, allowing Daisuke-san to step forward. Wordlessly, Jyuushiro held Shunsui's sword out to the big man. Shunsui took it and slapped Jyuushiro on the shoulder, raising clouds of dust. Jyuushiro doubled up coughing, body shaking with adrenalin.

"Come back with me." Kaoru's voice was faint but sure.

Shunsui leaned back against the far wall, narrowed eyes following Jyuushiro's movements with concern. Jyuushiro sheathed his sword and joined Kaoru on the floor. He found it that much easier to breathe. The singing snarl of steel continued. Kaoru sat up, watching Daisuke-san work with the reach of his released naginata.

"What happened to Kali?" Jyuushiro asked.

Kaoru frowned and shook his head.

Shunsui growled, and his irritation was clear through his reiatsu. "Tell us. It's not like she'd have left you."

Kaoru spat on the floor of the tunnel. "She discovered this horde of Hollows going through a pass near your family's castle. She came running to warn me, shouted across a ravine, and was overwhelmed before my eyes."

"How?" Jyuushiro tried to imagine how that could have happened.

"They were faster."

"But she can..."

"Flash step?" Kaoru's tone was so detached, Jyuushiro wondered if he'd shatter like ice if that distance broke. "There was one of those smaller Hollows who can travel just as quickly. It caught her on the bridge across. She fought. It was joined by dozens of lesser Hollows, and I arrived just in time to watch them cut the bridge before I could come to her rescue."

Shunsui opened his mouth.

Kaoru interrupted even before a word could come out. "No, I could not feel her reiatsu anywhere. I nearly jumped down after her; however, since I knew how and where that pass connected to the Shiba plains, I decided you could still be saved. She could not."

Shunsui winced.

Jyuushiro sighed, bowed his head, and said with full formality, "Thank you very much, Kuchiki-san."

Kaoru's eyes closed. "Do not thank me for leaving my love to die."

Jyuushiro swallowed apologies and heartache for silence.

Suddenly the Hollows started screaming, and the mass of them surged in a frantic press of bodies that physically shoved Daisuke-san backward into Shunsui. Shunsui grabbed a torch. "Get Kaoru on his feet!"

Jyuushiro hastily got under Kaoru's arm. They both barely made it to a standing position before the mass of Hollows picked them up like flotsam lifted by a wave, and bore them effortlessly along.

Jyuushiro struggled to keep both Kaoru and himself from being buried by the struggling mass of bodies. Behind the tangle of regular-sized Hollows, Jyuushiro finally discerned the bulk of a Gillian. It was scrabbling at the rock walls, pulling itself along by talon, teeth, and toenails, shoving itself through tunnels so narrow that its spirit flesh was being ripped off in tatters. It bellowed and strove harder.

Something immense was moving behind the Gillian, some Hollow so empty it sucked at all the power before it as a hurricane's whirlpool might suck down ships. Horrified, Jyuushiro watched as the Gillian thrashed and flailed, smashing smaller Hollows and sending others, along with the students, flying further up the tunnel. Shunsui's torch blew out. The shrieking continued, bouncing off the walls, disorienting Jyuushiro. The pitch blackness and the din made it impossible to figure out which way was which, and the writhing, twisting footing confused him further.

Kaoru began chanting a fire kido spell. Light grew between Kaoru's fingers. Jyuushiro's dark-adapted eyes were dazzled. Clear as day, Jyuushiro could see the tangle of limbs about them. The Hollows started to turn toward them. Kaoru loosed the ball of fire, and the trail half-blinded Jyuushiro. Flame splashed against a Hollow, and their footing started to slide away from under them, as all of the ghosts flinched away. Desperately, Jyuushiro tried to work both of them back in the direction he thought the camp was, but he came up against a wall.

Shunsui's voice came from next to Jyuushiro's elbow. "Jyuushiro?"

"Aye."

"You're stepping on my leg."

Hastily, Jyuushiro moved Kaoru and himself to the side.

"Thank you," Shunsui said, in calm conversational tones. "Do you feel it coming?"

"No?" Jyuushiro found it nearly impossible to concentrate as much as he needed for long distance sensing, and wondered at Shunsui's sensitivity in this mess, with the four of them and all the Hollows. "What is it?"

"Fire. Big fire, but clean and from the camp."

"Yamamoto-soutaichou." Daisuke-san's voice held hope.

"Soutaichou?" Shunsui sounded speculative, and Jyuushiro snorted.

"Only you would worry about titles when we're about to get..."

The Gillian bellowed, and a heavy impact shook the cave. Pebbles and rocks fell from the ceiling, clattering to the floor. A heavy impact hit his left arm, and it went numb. One of the Hollows he was standing on suddenly went lax. Jyuushiro started to fall, but Kaoru grunted and yanked, while Shunsui grabbed his other hand. Then all three of them started to slide down the pile.

"Jump toward Yamamoto-sama!" Daisuke-san called out.

Jyuushiro used his legs to shove away from the moving mountain and added flash step to the effort. It was easier when Jyuushiro oriented on Daisuke-san's reiatsu. With his eyes closed, he could even feel the spirit power that lay in the stones of the cave, in the same way that the energies wove together all of Soul Society. Jyuushiro pulled the other two with him, and his arm flared to life with pain. Jyuushiro grunted.

Hollows trying to escape the madness of the Gillian, scrambled behind them, snarling, gnashing teeth and clashing talons, but there was no concerted attack. The Hollows were just desperate to get away. Jyuushiro felt Shunsui let go of his hand, then Kaoru sighed, and Jyuushiro felt Shunsui's arm against his own at the noble's back.

"Let's go."

They picked Kaoru up between them and ran. Daisuke-san moved behind them, intimidating enough that the Hollows didn't press too close. Suddenly, Jyuushiro saw the nearest Hollow backpedalling with frantic haste.

Yamamoto-sama appeared in the tunnel, bare from the waist up. He needed no torch with the naked flame of Ryuujin Jakka rising in lazy tongues from bared steel. The pressure of his reiatsu, along with the released power of the sword, made Jyuushiro tremble. Before he might have dropped Kaoru, Jyuushiro turned. Shunsui took the hint and all three of them leaned against the stone walls. Jyuushiro had to make a sincere effort to breathe.

Daisuke-san stood steady and bowed in greeting. Yamamoto-sama nodded gravely in acknowledgement and strode on. The scrabbling and cries from the Hollows grew more urgent, but now the mass of Hollows pushed to get away.

"Burn all existence to ash, Ryuujin Jakka," Yamamoto-sama intoned in a voice that resonated the very bedrock beneath Jyuushiro's feet. Yamamoto-sama pointed his sword at the writhing darkness, and the world dissolved in flame.

Kaoru fell to the cold stone floor, taking Jyuushiro and Shunsui down with his weight. Roaring destruction flowed in glowing backwash over the roof of the tunnel. A cloud of Hollow dust so thick as to choke rained down on them. When the worst of the heat blew by, the stone popped and crackled in its wake. A gentle patter of small stones fell to the tunnel floor, followed more rapidly by larger rocks, and finally the rumbling ruin of tons of earth collapsing.

Warily, Jyuushiro started a firebolt kido spell, the way Kaoru had, but instead of finishing it, he simply stopped speaking the words when he could see by the glow. Released from intent, the spell unraveled, but only after Jyuushiro could see that the walls above and about them were still solid.

"Come. There is much to do," Yamamoto-sama said, and strode back the way he'd come.

Shunsui got up from the ground, dusted off his butt, and gave Jyuushiro a hand up.

"Well," Shunsui said, looking at the last shifting pebbles in the wall of stone that now blocked the Hollow's way. "That'll hold them for a while."

"Yes," Jyuushiro said and tried to get his treacherously wobbly knees completely under his control. "Until we can figure out either how to get the helpless out of the way or how to get a force in here that could be effective."

"More effective than that?" Kaoru said incredulously, as Shunsui and Jyuushiro picked him up again between them.

"Cleansing the tunnels of every Hollow is impossible at this point," Daisuke-san said. "The myriad passages make that an endless task."

Jyuushiro thought of the maps of the tunnels Shunsui and he had seen at the Shiba compound: they ran through these mountains like a maze.

Something hit the other side of the blockage. The walls shook and stones rattled down from the pile.

"We should hurry," Yamamoto-sama said. "This will not hold forever, children, and we must have a plan before it fails."

"Aye, sir," Daisuke-san said calmly.

"Thank you for saving our asses, sir," Shunsui added.

"An overwhelmed position would have done our cause no favors," Yamamoto-sama said. His sword lit the way for them all. "I needed Daisuke-san to help me with tactics when so many were wounded on the Shiba plains. When I went looking for him, Ryuu-kun pointed out this troublesome invasion, and I came looking for all three of you."

"Four, now," Kaoru said, and Jyuushiro felt the other student strengthen.

"How are circumstances in the Kyouraku mountains, Kuchiki-kun?" Yamamoto-sama asked evenly.

"They were confused," Kaoru reported. "Kali stumbled on this horde of Hollows as part of our routine surveys of the area; however, the bulk of them were not headed toward Kyoraku's outposts, instead, they were trying, with all intent, to come here."

"My parents' holdings weren't rich enough with spirit power for them?" Shunsui sounded thoughtful. "That makes no sense whatsoever."

"Do your parents know of the invasion?" Yamamoto-sama interrupted.

"I don't know, sir," Shunsui answered frankly.

"We ran out of Hell Butterflies," Jyuushiro added.

Yamamoto-sama paused, and Daisuke-san produced a butterfly. Jyuushiro sighed in relief.

Shunsui took the creature, bent over it and murmured, "Mother, there is a horde of Hollows in the caves toward the Shiba Plains. Kali is lost in one of the crevices on the way. Please look for her and if you can deal with the Hollows as well, we'd be grateful. We're in the Shiba caves. Thank you very much."

The insect fluttered away, disappearing into the darkness.

Jyuushiro had to reflect on the fact that Shunsui still held hope for Kali when it was obvious that Kaoru could not.

They neared the villagers' caves far more quickly than Jyuushiro had anticipated. Once within sight, Hayato sprang to his feet, relief plain on his face as he joined them as they turned into the living caves. Apparently after having waited a few hours for his friends to come out of the catacombs of tunnels, the close caves where all the villagers dwelled was now more acceptable to the mountain-born prince.

"Come to the command tent after Kuchiki-kun has been seen to, I think that the medics have setup in the second cave," Yamamoto directed. "Ryuu-kun, you're with me."

Hayato and Daisuke-san followed the striding figure of Yamamoto into the main cave, while Shunsui and Jyuushiro took Kaoru as directed.

* * *

Looking into the cave where the injured lay, Shunsui realized that the Hollows between here and Shiba's lands must have taken their toll of the fighters. The cave Yamada Itsuke had set his little tent in was covered in tatami mats spread to the stone walls. Wounded lay in every possible space.

In the midst of the groaning lake of pain, stood the gorgeous and serene Unohana-senpai. With her black hair bound at the nape of her neck and flowing down her back, Unohana-senpai calmly directed the villagers to help with the wounded. Half a dozen children and women rewrapped dressings, washed feverish faces, and tucked blankets about sleeping forms. Yamada-ji hopped about like a crane stabbing at fish. Fires had been built to warm everyone, and with this many of the reiatsu-gifted, there were cook pots on every fire.

Jyuushiro frowned at the orderly scene, and turned to Shunsui and Kaoru. "Will you be all right bringing Kaoru to the tent? I have to go get something."

Shunsui nodded. "Your ward?" It was far too easy to see the rows and rows of injured as nothing more than a buffet for the Hollows they'd just turned away.

Jyuushiro nodded helplessly. "It's something, not nearly enough but..."

"A warding?" Kaoru asked as Jyuushiro ran off in the direction of their bedrolls.

"Aye. Something his family made him."

"How quaint," Kaoru said shortly, but his sneer was diluted by a quaver of pain.

Shunsui couldn't see an open space to deposit Kaoru, so he headed toward Unohana-senpai. She was kneeling by an unconscious woman, checking pulse and temperature. The dressings had bled through, and Unohana-senpai started to change them. This close, Shunsui saw the hollows under her dark eyes, the shake in her fingertips. Unohana-senpai had been stretched well beyond her considerable resources and was still doing her utmost to heal those around her. Shunsui sighed in sheer admiration.

Five minutes later, Unohana-senpai finished the dressing. She sat back and closed her eyes.

Kaoru coughed politely.

Unohana-senpai blinked, looked up at them, and got to her feet with the faintest of smiles. She didn't even speak to them, just gestured for them to follow her. She want to Yamada-ji's tent and opened the flap. There was one empty pallet on the floor. "Here," she said. "Lie here."

Shunsui squatted to let Kaoru down gently onto the covered pad. Unohana-senpai settled next to Kaoru and lifted torn clothing.

"These are grave injuries, Kuchiki-kun. I shall have to sew some of these up, as I haven't the energy to do kido healing. You understand the implications?" Unohana-senpai's voice was more clipped than Shunsui expected, her tiredness making her curt where she'd always been gracious.

Kaoru nodded. "It shall be a longer recovery period, with the possibility of scarring."

"It's also going to hurt," Unohana-senpai said frankly. "One of the Hatsuzora clan refused to let me go on after two stitches."

"I am Kuchiki," Kaoru said firmly. "I will not flinch."

Unohana-senpai frowned and then nodded. "Then I shall move forward with what I need to do."

"As you will." Kaoru settled, as composed as an ivory statue, on the mat.

Shunsui kept to himself the thought that Unohana-senpai had played it perfectly. She couldn't have gotten a more enthusiastic patient if she'd tried. Heck, any noble would probably have run screaming if she's tried to cajole them into the operation. This way, she'd made it a matter of Kuchiki pride.

Unohana-senpai turned away to get her equipment.

"Take care, Kaoru. I should go to the meeting," Shunsui said.

"Aye. Good luck."

"Unohana-senpai?" Unohana turned back to Shunsui with a quirk of an eyebrow. Heartened by a tired smile, Shunsui continued, "I'm glad you're here. Thank you for taking care of so many."

She bowed to him in acknowledgement, and he bowed back.

That was when Jyuushiro arrived with a single red, embroidered ribbon. Shunsui stepped out of the tent. Looking at the slip of silk dubiously, Jyuushiro asked Shunsui, "Do you think it'll be enough?"

"What's it supposed to do?" Shunsui asked.

"I actually don't know," Jyuushiro said quietly. "I think we're supposed to hang it up where it can be seen or where it can see what's coming."

"There's a crack up near the top of the arch: maybe you can drive a splinter or something through the ribbon into that?" Shunsui walked toward the tall arch to get a better view. Along the way was one of the push carts that the farmers had brought to carry things. He grabbed the handles and brought it under the arch. "Try this."

Jyuushiro climbed into the bed of the thing, while Shunsui held it steady. With the butt of his sword, Jyuushiro pounded a wood splinter through the top of the ribbon into the crack in the rock below. The ribbon fluttered in an unseen breath of air, fixed above the entrance, on the outside, facing whatever might be coming.

"How does it look?" Jyuushiro asked.

Shunsui craned his neck. "It looks like it's centered and solid."

"Good."

A bell ran in the depths of the caverns. Shunsui recognized it as the village bell they'd managed to haul down here on one of the ox-carts. It was funny what villagers thought was important, but the thing had proven useful more than once.

Jyuushiro's head went up, and he looked in the direction of the sound before putting one hand on Shunsui's shoulder and gracefully alighting on the ground. "Meeting?"

"Aye." Shunsui took the cart back to where he'd gotten it from. "Yamamoto-soutaichou must have something to say."

* * *

Yamamoto was standing by Arai's tent with the village elders about him. Daisuke-san was surrounded by a group of students that Shunsui recognized, and they stood apart from representatives from the Ryuu, Shihouin, and Kuchiki clans. The nobles all clustered about Yamamoto as well, but a small group of Hatsuzora clan members watched them, while standing apart. Hatsuzora's blues clashed with the austere black of the Academy's troops, and Shunsui couldn't help but admire the elegance of simplicity.

Shunsui remembered Hayato saying something about Hatsuzora observing but being a pain in the ass about orders. Seeing the Kuchiki folk in full regalia, Shunsui was wondering if he should report Kaoru's condition to the Kuchiki members, when Ito Indra suddenly popped up by Shunsui.

"Hey, you're here!" Indra grabbed Shunsui and started wrestling with him. The wiry youngster nearly brought Shunsui down through sheer surprise, but Shunsui managed to get his feet under himself. With a grunt, Shunsui twisted, and Indra gave a shout of a laugh as Shunsui lifted Indra with a shoulder. "Nice!"

"Yeah?" Shunsui grinned his lazy grin as he set Indra lightly back down on the cave floor. Everyone was staring at them.

"Good ta see you, Soma sends this." Indra dragged out a sake bottle. "And his sincere regrets that he couldn't be here to help."

"Any more of your brothers here?" Shunsui asked, scanning the crowd. He saw Jyuushiro's white shock of hair bent by the ear of Kuchiki Ren. A flick of an elegant fingertip, and one of the Kuchiki retainers sped away, so Jyuushiro must have taken care of informing them of their heir's condition.

"Rudra's being his usual wet blanket here, but the others are home. How's Kali doing?"

Shunsui pursed his lips, and Indra went very still.

"I don't know exactly how she's doing," Shunsui said truthfully. "But she and Kaoru ran into trouble near my parents' castle. Kaoru made it here, but Kali..."

Indra flared.

Everyone who didn't fall down ducked. Other than Yamamoto, who looked up, took one flash-step, and put an enormous, scarred hand over Indra's head. To Shunsui's surprise there was absolutely no indication of power being used, but Indra's eyes rolled up, and the youth slumped. Shunsui caught Indra, dragged him to the edge of the crowd, and laid him down gently. Jyuushiro came running, and right beside Jyuushiro's mix of lightning and sea came a reiatsu that tasted of tears and rain.

"Kali's in trouble?" Ito Rudra's voice held no hint of inflection.

"Aye," Shunsui started when Yamamoto-soutaichou answered before he could.

"Which way?"

"Through a sea of Hollows that clog the tunnels between here and there," Yamamoto-soutaichou said evenly.

"Is she dead?"

"Not that I know." Shunsui said strictly what was true, and half-despised himself for not being able to say what Kaoru thought was true.

"Then we shall have to cleanse them and find out," Rudra said in exactly the same tones, and somehow, Shunsui could see in his mind's eye the two brothers fighting step-by-step through the tunnels that even Yamamoto-soutaichou had just abandoned.

"Are you saying that we have a horde of Hollows coming in from the Kyouraku mountains that is even larger than the one that we went through coming here from the Shiba Estate?" It was Hayato's cousin, Ryuu Hinata, the characteristic hawk nose of her clan high in the air. She was dressed in full battle regalia, her armor reminiscent of dragon scales, and her reiatsu nearly as weighty as that of Ryuu Kurogane, the sword instructor at the Academy. Shunsui took an instant dislike to her, as she seemed cut from the same cloth as his own brother: capable, disdainful, and superior to everyone about her.

"Aye. It's true," Yamamoto-soutaichou said.

A murmur of dismay rippled through the gathering.

"How in the world are you going to deal with that? You lost hundreds in the march from the Estates to here, there aren't that many people left." Hatsuzora Kaito sounded nervous, even in the midst of his bodyguard and counselors.

Shunsui watched the Hatsuzora lord curiously. This was the man that had ascended to the second slot in the Hatsuzora clan hierarchy after the duels Kenshin had so bloodthirstily enjoyed earlier in the year. To Shunsui's disappointment the man looked merely harried and uncomfortable, even in the midst of his own people. Some part of Shunsui wanted the price in lives to show, but it didn't; thinking that evil might show itself in such an ordinary form disconcerted Shunsui.

"Those that are left are the capable and the strong," Yamamoto-soutaichou intoned. "The rest were here for training and to gain experience. We have plenty here to deal with the threat. My man here has a map, and we should be able to discern the way from it."

Daisuke-san spread out a large sheet of paper with the tunnels spidery lines across the mountains. The map looked familiar to Shunsui, it was the same one the students of the Tactics and Strategy class had been given, so he stepped back, tugging Jyuushiro and Hayato with him to make room for those who hadn't seen the maze. Hatsuzora-sama and the other Clan leaders bent over the sheet of paper together.

With a jangled chord of sound, a Hollow sprang into existence in the midst of them all. Hungry, malevolent, and displaying a terrifying strength of spirit power, a laughing, bony gorilla fell onto the map. It slashed the paper into ribbons with curved claws, and then whirled on those nearest to it. Hatsuzora Kaito's throat was opened in an instant and he fell, looking bewildered. More blood flew, but most had reacted well enough not to be instantly killed. Half a dozen noble reiatsu signatures flared into life. Swords were drawn in the melee, and there were shouts of dismay as the close quarters made the edges more of a threat than the single Hollow.

There was a pop of flash-step and the clot of struggling humanity broke apart.

To Shunsui's horror, the only one left standing right next to the Hollow was Yamamoto, who inexplicably staggered and fell.

Daisuke-san screamed a _kiai, _and Takekaze, released, swept a blow at the beast, but the gorilla sneered, and blocked the blow with one bony forearm. Shunsui was reminded of the adjucha they'd seen on the Shihouin field of combat. Deliberately, the monster stomped one big foot on the prone figure of Yamamoto to the sound of snapping bones. It caught another of Daisuke-san's attacks before launching itself, tusks bared, at Daisuke-san. It knocked him over and proceeded to tear at him.

Three different blasts of energy coincided at once on the back of the bony beast. One was Jyuushiro, loosing a kido spell, one came from a half-balding blond man from the Hatsuzora camp, and the last...

Shunsui blinked. It was Fong Jin Wei, her small face fierce with concentration and something akin to horror. The combination of blows knocked the thing back half a step, and Daisuke-san took advantage of the opening, bringing Takekaze back and striking with all his considerable strength. Shunsui saw most of the Clan delegates take another step away, in amazement, surprise, or just self-preservation, he wasn't sure which. He noted, with some amusement that Ryuu Hinata did not, nor did Kuchiki Ren. Reputations to uphold, Shunsui thought, and had it confirmed when the two glanced at each other and charged while the adjucha swayed, still upright.

With a welling of power akin to a sunflower seeking light and a lotus bursting from the mud, the two nobles struck at the Hollow. Shunsui winced in the teeth of that power. Hinata took the high route, her intent as brilliant as the sun, while Ren struck from below, and the thing bellowed, flailed, and then burst into dust.

Silence fell.

Daisuke-san staggered up, shoulder and throat a bloody mess, eyes searching. He blinked at Fong, and said, incredulously, "Soi Ma Yi, what the hell are you doing here?"

Fong's eyes were wide, whites showing, but she coughed and then laughed bitterly. "Saving your ass again, Gardener. Damn everything." Daisuke-san collapsed, and for an instant, she hesitated, but then ran toward the fallen man.

Shunsui grabbed Jyuushiro, "Find Unohana-senpai? Your flash step is..."

Jyuushiro disappeared.

Shunsui completed the distance to Yamamoto, and knelt by the still form. The jagged end of a broken bone shone through Yamamoto's upper arm, but the old man was breathing; however, there was a catch and rasp that Shunsui didn't like. Even in the soup of reiatsu that sloshed about the cavern, Shunsui felt it when Unohana dropped into it with Jyuushiro's moonlit calm. She knelt by Shunsui, her hands quick to find the breaks.

"Hold his shoulder," Unohana said, firmly, and Shunsui did so. She yanked on the elbow and the bone disappeared; another quick pull and she signed in satisfaction even as she applied pressure to the now-bleeding flesh. "That should do it. I need a splint, and bandages."

The balding Hatsuzora retainer, who had also thought to use kido, held out a scabbard. "Will this do?"

"For now, yes." Unohana took it and bound it into place. "There's something else..." She hesitated. "This shouldn't have affected Yamamoto-sama enough to render him unconscious. His body is shaking and he's having difficulty breathing, but none of his ribs are broken and while there is trauma to his torso, none of it should be affecting his breathing. Help me roll him over?"

Putting Yamamoto on his back, Unohana searched with creased eyebrows, and then she had Shunsui move the old teacher to his front. Various Clan members moved in closer, though Shunsui was grateful when Ryuu Hinata and Kuchiki Ren moved away: the oppressive pressure of their reiatsu made it difficult to concentrate.

"There." It was Ito Rudra. "A small slit in the cloth."

"Oh." Unohana sat back on her heels. "What in the world?" She peeled back the kimono.

"Cut the wound open. Now." Jyuushiro said, leaning in close to study the small puckered slit. "It's small like a dagger wound, but the edges act as if it were like a beaked sea snake bite, see the way the edges of the wound have gone brown? That snake's venom destroys the flesh like that and then stops the breathings of its victim."

There was the click of a zanpakutou being released from a scabbard, and suddenly Jyuushiro had the attention of every person there. Oblivious to the gasps, Jyuushiro drew his sword, wrapped his sleeve about the edge, and before anyone could move, Jyuushiro flared his reiatsu and sank the tip into the dark-edge wound. "We have to bleed it, get the poison out of there. If there's someone that knows how to burn out poisons..." Jyuushiro looked around at them all and, to Shunsui, his terror was palpable.

"Poison?" Kuchiki Ren sounded incredulous. "How the hell could someone stick anything through Yamamoto-sama's reiatsu, much less something poisoned?"

Shunsui recalled the reiatsu flash of the Hollow coming in, and realized that anyone with enough reiatsu could have used that as cover for the strike.

"There is _no time_!" Jyuushiro cried. "Who here has an antidote or can burn out poisons?"

Shunsui turned to Unohana-senpai, but she shook her head. "I have no experience with..." she began.

"You do." Daisuke-san's thread-thin whisper cut through Shunsui's words like a blade through grass. He had his hand wrapped about Fong's wrist, and he shook it gently. "Go on. Do it."

"I don't know if I can," Fong said, pained. "And someone will have to support his breathing and his heart."

"That I can do," Unohana-senpai said firmly even as Shunsui made a sound of protest. She just looked at him, dark eyes full, and Shunsui shut up. Keeping Yamamoto alive, even when drained dry by others, was Unohana-senpai's type of battle, not Shunsui's. "Bandage Daisuke-san's wounds, Shunsui, or get him to Yamada-san," she added, and Shunsui nodded.

"Just try," Daisuke-san rasped urgently to Fong. "I know you have plenty of experience with poisons." Daisuke-san's tone was as dry as desert sands.

Fong winced, but her shoulders squared.

"You owe me, Soi Ma Yi," Daisuke-san said.

At the naming, Shunsui saw Fong frown again and Rudra startle. The woman knelt by Yamamoto-soutaichou's still form.

"I need water, now," she said with a frown. One of the Academy students proffered a bamboo flask. She took it, bowed and put her lips to the wound and sucked and spat blood and blackness onto the stone floor. She rinsed her mouth, and did it two more times before all she spat was clear, red blood. Another thorough rinsing, and she closed her eyes, brow furrowed in concentration. A glow grew on her fingertips that tasted more of fire and burning than healing, but Daisuke-san closed his eyes and slumped back in what looked like relief.

Unohana-senpai bent to Yamamoto's chest, and under her glowing palms his breathing eased.

"They're ignoring me, aren't they?" Kuchiki Ren said, voice frosty.

"No, sir," Shunsui replied. "They're just paying attention to what matters."

Kuchiki Ren shook his head. "No, boy, all of this is just the distraction. The real problem is that we don't know who the hell just put that dagger into Yamamoto-soutaichou. Which of [i]us[/i] is the murderer?"

* * *

_Author's Notes for the Chapter:_

Yes. It's been over a year since I last did a chapter, and I fully intend to finish this before the close of the Year of the Rabbit. I've been delayed by actually publishing books with Torquere Press under the name H. J. Raine with my co-author Kelly Wyre.

I wish to take a moment to say Thank You to all of you. For following this, for your reviews, for the comments that made me really think and really realize why it is that I do fanfiction and it's just for the sheer fun and love of telling stories that I wouldn't otherwise get to do and letting people enjoy them just as they come from my head. So thank you, all.

And, of course, I had to get my research references for this chapter in: Many thanks to Cecil Adams for writing an article in "The Straight Dope" on the effectiveness of certain poisons and Wikipedia for detailing how things worked with the various types.


	35. Left Behind

"He's right," Daisuke-san rasped.

Shunsui ignored the conversation and paid attention, instead, to the ruin in front of him. Daisuke-san's throat and the meat of his shoulder were a bloody, shredded mess, on top of the wounds he'd already sustained in the tunnels. Shunsui paused, dismayed.

Jyuushiro dropped to his knees by Shunsui, his slender fingers spread over torn flesh.

"Quiet, sir, I think I can put some of this back together," he said with a frown. Intoning the words for a healing kido, Jyuushiro leaned against Shunsui's shoulder, and Shunsui fought not to just wrap an arm around his friend. Shaken by the sudden appearance of violence in a situation Shunsui had thought _safe_, Shunsui wanted reassurance, and Jyuushiro's touch provided an unexpected amount of it.

The blue glow of healing kido bathed Daisuke-san's throat and shoulder. Shunsui, remembering how healing had worked at the Academy, reached into the mess, and did his best to press together rent edges. Jyuushiro gave a curt nod, and under his fingertips Shunsui felt heat rise and blood flow.

"Why are you healing him, boy?" Kuchiki Ren's silken smooth tones made Shunsui bristle.

But Jyuushiro's concentration on Daisuke-san's healing was too complete, and Shunsui saw that Jyuushiro hadn't even heard the question.

"Because Daisuke-san's been our teacher for a year and just saved our lives," Shunsui said shortly. "Why the hell wouldn't he?"

Daisuke-san's eyes narrowed and then dropped closed.

Kuchiki Ren chuckled. "But your boy is also the one that knew what the poison was."

The other nobles started moving in closer, and Ryuu Hinata threw more fuel on that particular bonfire. "How _did_ your friend know about the nature of that poison?"

The glow faded from Jyuushiro's hands, and to Shunsui's touch, Daisuke-san's heated skin began to cool, the flush fading. The worst of the slashes were now closed, though the jagged flesh was purple and swollen. No more blood ran from open wounds. Shunsui relaxed as Jyuushiro stirred and looked up at the surrounding people.

"I knew because my sister was once bitten by a beaked sea snake." Jyuushiro sat back, and only Shunsui could tell that his roommate was shaking under the black robes. "She nearly died, but the village healer knew what it was and what to do."

"In Seireitei?" Ryuu Hinata asked sharply.

"Of course not, out on the Western Shore, the village of Hamamura." Jyuushiro sounded exasperated.

Kuchiki Ren turned to look at the Hatsuzora contingent, who were huddled over their fallen lord. They were arguing over a dignified way to carry the body back to their homelands. "Isn't that in the ocean Clan's lands? Why aren't you with them?"

"He's not big enough for their robes," Shunsui drawled, suddenly seeing the situation Kuchicki Ren was playing toward.

"What?" Jyuushiro looked startled, but gave Shunsui a look. Shunsui felt Jyuushiro's reiatsu relax. "Daisuke-san, do you need help with your side as well?"

Shunsui settled contentedly by Jyuushiro, seeing that Jyuushiro was doing his best to head the conversation away into safe territories. Shunsui's reiatsu senses spread just a little further, and he started as he came in contact with Kaoru's essence at the edge of the crowd. What was he doing here?

"No, Ukitake-kun," Daisuke-san said firmly. "I would not have you overdo it. There are healers in the other cave."

"Which are all overextended, sir. If I may?"

"No, Ukitake-kun. You may not. You and Shunsui already did field dressings, and they were just surface wounds. They are mildly uncomfortable, but I will not die of these." Daisuke-san's tone was dry as he levered himself back up to a seated position. "I wish, however, to speak to Kuchiki-san's concerns."

"Oh, do you?" Kuchiki Ren's tones had gone silky again.

The tone might have worked on Shunsui, except Shunsui sensed Kaoru's wrath building like a small storm cloud edging over the horizon.

"Yes. I do." Daisuke-san's smile was bland. "Ukitake-kun could not have struck through Yamamoto-soutaichou's waking reiatsu. He is not strong enough."

"But he cut Yamamoto-soutaichou easily enough right before our eyes!" Ryuu Hinata murmured, shocked. "How can you say that he couldn't have hit the General when his back was turned?"

"Because the difference between a conscious reiatsu and an unconscious one is considerable," Daisuke-san said mildly. "And if you knew anything of Ukitake-kun's personality you wouldn't even ask these questions."

"But if this is an ocean poison, and only available from oceanic sources..."

"Who would have the greatest reason to see Yamamoto-soutaichou fail?"

Shunsui was fascinated by just how many pairs of eyes flickered toward the arguing Hatsuzora nobles.

"But why in the world would any of them sacrifice their own lord to do it?" Jyuushiro asked, sounding utterly bewildered. "That's not..."

"Unless the attack on Yamamoto-soutaichou was just cover to kill Hatsuzora-sama," Shunsui interjected.

"But a _Hollow_ killed Hatsuzora-sama," Kuchiki Ren said, sounding utterly appalled. "Who in the world could control Hollows in such a matter as to orchestrate that?"

Shunsui caught the quick flick of a glance Ryuu Hinata gave Kuchiki Ren. There was something going on between those two. They seemed closer to each other than they were with their own kinsmen. Neither were the heads of their households, nor were they direct heirs. That they might have worked together to make all this happen was entirely possible. It seemed odd that they would have put themselves in jeopardy in order to...

In Shunsui's mind, he saw Ryuu-san and Kuchiki-san's concerted movements against the attacking adjucha, and the fact that they hadn't started until after other people's kido punches and Daisuke-san's telling blow. That wasn't jeopardy. Imaging that kind of power at play dazzled Shunsui.

_You could do that, brother,_ the gruff voice within his mind stated. _You are entirely capable, my wielder, of equal if not far greater power._

_Herding Hollows?_ Shunsui asked, appalled.

_No, no! Meeting one of those things head-on and winning just as easily. Just hear my name._

Shunsui snorted, then realized that all those very sharp eyes were trained on him. He gave a sheepish grin, and most of the looks dropped away.

"If it was one of the Hatsuzora nobles," Ito Rudra said slowly, the weight of his words solid, "then they would be terrible in battle. Anyone or any clan that wouldstoop to calling in an army of Hollows would have no moral control anymore and would be as dangerous as a mad dog."

"But why in the King's name would anyone attack a dragon to get at the head billy goat?" Daisuke-san was frowning. "And while that further speculation might be correct, do they actually look as if they could do something like that?"

Kuchiki Ren coughed to cover a laugh. "You are calling a Clan a herd of goats?"

Shunsui eyed the utter chaos of the Hatsuzora group and understood Daisuke-san's disbelief. There was no way those people would have had the brains or the will to plan this. His mind raced down the path that his teacher had opened. If Yamamoto-soutaichou was the actual target, then it had to be because someone wanted to get rid of the head of the Academy. Getting rid of Yamamoto-soutaichou could have more than one repercussion, including causing the Academy to lose the steady direction of Yamamoto.

More than one noble house wanted the Academy in disarray; however, everyone knew that Ryuu Kurogane was next in line for the head of the Ryuu clan, and while Kurogane wasn't Yamamoto, he also wasn't one to allow chaos to reign. Shunsui felt the thread of an intent, and he glanced up to see Ryuu Hinata looking at him. She looked away quickly, but it only confirmed Shunsui's intuition.

Something else was going on under the cover of both assassination attempt and real death, and it wasn't as simple as the Hatsuzora Clan trying to get rid of the Academy. Someone was setting them up to make it look that way.

Daisuke-san was facing Kuchiki Ren as if he were taking on an equal. "Aye. I call things as I see them, sir."

"You really do not have a good sense of self-preservation, commoner," Kuchiki Ren said. "But let us say you are accurate in your assessment of those asses; then perhaps that's all the more reason why Hatsuzora-sama bungled the attempt and got himself killed."

"Then justice is already served cold," Daisuke-san said quietly.

The clan members shifted, their intent suddenly feeling to Shunsui as if they were nearly as hungry as Hollows. Nobles with a weak clan to fall on were worse than sharks with a taste of blood in Shunsui's experience. Hatsuzora's disarray was awfully appealing to any that wished to take over their lands. The very coldest of practical voices in his head murmured that it would be easier on the Academy in the end if the Hatsuzora clan were brought down. The last clan that resisted the Academy would be gone.

Under Shunsui's hands, Daisuke-san stiffened. There was something of warning and challenge in Daisuke-san's reiatsu, and Shunsui acknowledged it with a slight nod. Here and now was not the place to air his thoughts. There were too many to hear and take the kind of offense that a wounded Yamamoto couldn't afford.

"How are they doing with Yamamoto-soutaichou?" Daisuke-san asked anxiously, and everyone turned to see.

Jyuushiro patted Daisuke-san's shoulder, got up, and found himself eye to eye with Ito Indra. Jyuushiro kept his gaze steady while looking into Indra's bloodshot glare, and finally it was Indra's eyes that flickered down. Before everyone, Indra stepped aside and Jyuushiro paced over to where Yamamoto lay.

Unohana pushed damp hair from her face at Jyuushiro's approach, and Fong was gasping for air, sprawled by Yamamoto-soutaichou's now relaxed form.

"How is it going?" Jyuushiro asked so that everyone could hear. "His breathing seems to have evened out."

Unohana looked up, while Fong just grunted something that might have been, "Fever."

Unohana nodded in agreement, took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it go out slowly. When she spoke, it was in calm and measured phrases. "The poison is mostly taken care of, but what's left will induce a fever to burn off what remains. At his age, it might be dangerous to keep him here, where his convalescence could be compromised."

"How about the Shiba Estates? Would that be a better place for him?" Shunsui asked from where he sat by Daisuke-san. "It's the closest."

"There is only one possibility for taking Yamamoto-soutaichou to the Estate," Kuchiki Ren stated with authority. "The Academy army cut a swathe through the horde of Hollows on the way here, but there are still hundreds of Hollows scattered throughout the side valleys between here and the Estate. If we go back through all of that, it should only be with people who can fight."

"What of the Hollows stuck behind the rock fall! If you go now, those will just break through!" Hayato seemed to have finally found his voice, even if it was rather high.

"Which will not matter a jot if we take all the troops who can walk with us." Ryuu Hinata almost sounded contemplative.

"And who will defend those who can't go with you?" Hayato's voice broke in the middle of the sentence, and the stress and mortification of having to point out something like that shone bright in his reiatsu. "We can't get everyone out of here, especially the slower villagers."

"Maybe the Academy students will prove their worth." Hinata's smile looked all the more hawk-like. "Or they'll prove that, like the villagers, they are simply fodder for Hollows."

"You're including me, you know that?" Hayato flushed bright red, as if he suddenly realized how his aunt thought of him.

"Of course not, nephew." Anyone with a jot of reiatsu senses would have understood that Hinata's surprise was feigned, and Shunsui snorted. It earned him a glare much like that of a raptor eying a tasty rodent. Hinata turned back to Hayato "You are of the Clan. You would come with us, of course."

Hayato blinked at Hinata and recoiled. "And leave my friends?"

"We are family, Hayato-kun. What is the problem?"

"E-everything," Hayato stammered. He glanced at Shunsui, who smiled back in encouragement. Hayato straightened and put his shoulders back. "I'm staying here."

Hinata studied Hayato. "You mean that, chick, don't you?"

Hayato trembled but nodded.

"Maybe this Academy thing is good for you, boy." Hinata slapped Hayato on the shoulder. "Good. Stay here. Defend your honor, chick. We'll bring all the clans. Just hold them long enough."

"Why not send a Hell butterfly now?" Jyuushiro asked quietly, just behind Hinata's shoulder. Shunsui saw her jump and used his sleeve to hide his grin.

"Just send a Butterfly to the Lords, that we need help here. The Kyouraku Clan already know, and Ryuu might be upset at being left out."

"Good thinking." Kuchiki Ren cocked his head. "Do you think Kaoru-kun will be reasonable and come with us?"

"Unlikely." Kaoru's slow voice drawled. The slender noble limped into the circle from where he'd been standing at the edge, receiving a fierce look of concern from Unohana-senpai. "I'm a little too stubborn to do what anyone would do, dear cousin."

"It is good to know one's limitations, cousin."

Shunsui watched, fascinated. While he and Shonetsu might go at it as if with cleavers, Kaoru and Ren argued like slipping daggers hidden under silken sleeves between ribs.

"Besides, I regret not dying with Kali..." Oh, there was the cleaver.

"To the betterment of your standing and clan, dear cousin."

Kaoru flushed but his voice remained calm. "... and will not leave again. Especially a situation where there is some hope."

"There was never any hope with that low-born bi-..."

Ito Indra hit Kuchiki Ren in the mouth with a clenched fist. It wasn't particularly honorable, nor was there any statement of ritualized intent, and Shunsui approved with every ounce of his being.

"Go, Indra!" Shunsui shouted with enthusiasm, and saw that even mild Jyuushiro had clenched fists.

Surprised and shocked by the utterly primitive assault, Ren just stood there, while Indra proceeded to pound him with half a dozen quick blows that sent the noble reeling back with a bloody nose and a bruised cheek. With a little distance, Ren gulped for air, flexed big hands, and then came back at Indra with a roundhouse kick aimed at Indra's head. Indra bared white teeth, stepped in toward Ren, grabbed the on-coming ankle, and hit him between his spread legs.

"Oooohhh." Shunsui winced and closed his eyes at the sound of pain from Ren. "That's gotta hurt."

Indra growled and stared at Ren writhing on the ground. "It's supposed to hurt."

Daisuke-san covered a laugh with a cough. "I suppose you have no objections to my students staying, then, Ito-san."

"None, sir." Indra frowned. "My brother and I will not run, either. We'll go to the barrier that Yamamoto-soutaichou created, and we will hold there. If they break through, then we will fight forward, toward Kyouraku's mountains. I need to see if my sister is alive, and that seems the most..."

"... least prudent but most satisfying method." Indra's brother, Rudra finished, peering at the thrashing Ren. "This Kuchiki should be all right enough to run away."

A groaning growl of sound came from the hunched over Ren, along with a slur of words Shunsui couldn't make out.

"I know, I know, we'll pay for that in Council when next we meet. And we will survive today, so that everyone will know exactly what you and your cousin have done," Rudra stated dryly. "And how you differed."

Rudra walked over to Yamamoto-soutaichou and bent to check the teacher's pulse, before looking up into Fong Jin Wei's eyes. "Will you stay?"

She nodded. "My orders..." Fong trailed off uncertainly.

"Are probably secret, aye?"

"Aye," Fong's dark eyes met Rudra's.

"And directly from..."

"Aye."

Shunsui noted how quickly Fong cut Rudra off. Rudra nodded and bowed low to Fong, lower than any noble would normally bow to a commoner. He and Indra strode away, and a dozen black-clad retainers leaped after them. Fong closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and Shunsui could see that her hands trembled.

Hinata impatiently gestured to the Kuchiki retainers, who came up to Ren and hesitated. It seemed that the pause was for good reason, as Ren growled at them and batted away any helping hands. Finally the man clambered unsteadily to his feet. "Build a litter for Yamamoto-soutaichou," he snarled. "Get going."

The Ryuu retainers looked to Hinata, who nodded curtly, and all the Clan folk split up to do as ordered.

Daisuke-san sighed. "Help me up, Shunsui."

"Aye, sir." Shunsui got under Daisuke-san's arm and helped the older man stand.

"All right, Kyouraku-kun," Daisuke-san said, "let's get the rest of the students together and see which ones will leave and which wish to stay." Shunsui, Jyuushiro, Hayato, and Kaoru went about gathering all the students who could move, and brought them over to Daisuke-san's resting place. Fong knelt by Daisuke-san's side, but faded away when all the black-clad students arrived.

Daisuke-san stood to speak once everyone quieted. Shunsui recognized Abe Tarou, Sato Saburou, and Hoshiko-chan from their classes. Jyuushiro went to greet them and sat by Hoshiko-chan while they all listened to Daisuke-san.

"Anyone that wishes to go back to the safety of the Shiba Estates should do so," Daisuke-san said,

At the rising murmur of protest, Daisuke-san shook his head. "Do not get caught up in a matter of pride when we are entering a battle for survival. There are dozens of wounded, many of which might be able to make it out if they have support and someone that will watch out for them. I would rather that those who don't feel up to the task simply get out now, there will be no pride lost in going. Kuchiki-kun has extenuating circumstances, and Ryuu-kun's pledge is different than your pledges to the force led from the Academy, especially since Yamamoto-soutaichou is now out of the picture."

"What about you, Kyouraku-kun, are you staying?" Abe-kun asked.

Shunsui caught Jyuushiro's eye. There was a calm belief there in those green eyes, a solidity that Shunsui found himself relying on in a way he could with no other. Shunsui chuckled and nodded. "Yes. Jyuushiro and I are staying. Nothing was said about getting the commoners out of this mess, only of the troops moving out. Jyuushiro and I brought them here. We can't leave them."

Jyuushiro's slow smile warmed Shunsui like nothing else could, and Shunsui felt himself settle. "We'll stay."

Everyone started talking. Shunsui stood by Daisuke-san, as the old sergeant got the remaining students organized. Most of them decided to go back, and Daisuke-san illustrated his point about pride by putting himself in charge of all those that were going back to the Shiba Estates. Once he'd said that, a lot more of the students decided to go. Unohana-senpai decided to stay with the wounded that couldn't make it, and she helped determine which of the remaining students were capable of making the trip back and which weren't.

When Shunsui saw Jyuushiro slip away from the busy group, he followed.

* * *

Jyuushiro sat on the cold stone floor of the cave, and pondered what it was they were really going to do and what it was that was really going on. He was shaking now from the aftermath of adrenaline and still feeling a little ill over the fact that Kuchiki Ren was going to use all the Clan and Academy warriors to get to safety and leave everyone else behind. It was also hard seeing all of his Academy friends only to know that they were about to leave again.

"Any bets on how many of the Hatsuzora are going to actually make it to Shiba's?"

Jyuushiro looked up to find Shunsui kneeling beside him, studying him. Shunsui's presence calmed his fears, and Jyuushiro was able to match the even tone.

"But didn't we figure out they weren't to blame for the poisoning?" Jyuushiro said, incredulous at the complete loss of law and order in the proceedings. He'd expected more of the nobles than this pragmatic and deadly Clan politics. "They can't be killed for that."

"We did, but I'm afraid the other Clans are just going to kill them off for failing to keep their Lord safe and making themselves a very ripe target," Shunsui murmured, his fingers going to Jyuushiro's cheek. The touch burned. "This is still bloody, you know."

"It is?" Jyuushiro asked absentmindedly, and touched the tacky surface of his bloody skin. He was still too appalled by the consequences to worry about a cut as a distraction. "Can they really kill a whole clan when they have no idea who's really guilty of Yamamoto-sama's poisoning?"

Shunsui pursed his lips. "I think Ren and Hinata are in it together."

Jyuushiro blinked, wondering why in the world those two would have done it; however, if Shunsui was correct, then Jyuushiro suddenly realized that Daisuke-san wasn't taking any coward's way out of danger. He was putting himself right into the heart of it. "Is that why Daisuke-san volunteered?"

"Probably." Fong Jin Wei's husky voice cut in. "The fool."

Both of the students turned to look at the tiny lady. "Why do you say that?" Jyuushiro asked, surprised by her presence but not willing to show it.

"Because he's injured, trying to protect someone that's completely unconscious, and he's putting them both into the fire. Why else?" Fong's tone was testy.

"Why don't you go with him, then, Fong-chan?" Shunsui asked. "It's pretty obvious that the two of you care for each other."

Fong gave an exasperated sigh. "He had to say that, didn't he?"

"Well, and you called him Gardener," Jyuushiro added peaceably.

"I did, didn't I?" Fong blew out another breath and sat down. "I am getting careless around you two instigators."

"Us?" Shunsui's tone of mock innocence made Jyuushiro smile.

Fong snorted, but she dropped to kneel by them. "My assignment was to watch the two of you."

"What? And not go after lost loves?" Fong growled, but Shunsui continued calmly, "Well, you know where we are and exactly what we'll be doing, right? What else does your boss need to know?"

Fong looked at both of them, and Jyuushiro wondered what it was that she saw. Something of tenderness touched her dark eyes and quirked the corner of her mouth.

"Well," Jyuushiro said to fill the silence, "you know we can't cook, that I'm good at carrying a baby, and exactly how easy it is to get Shunsui to hand his blade to the care of a woman..."

"Hey!" Shunsui's exclamation sounded more amused than outraged, and Fong's smile showed as thin as a new moon.

"... and precisely how stupid we are about sticking with what we've started." Jyuushiro puffed a laugh. "And we're not going to back down here, either."

"No, no you're not," Fong said with a sigh.

"You say that as if it were a bad thing," Shunsui teased, but Jyuushiro noted the way Shunsui's eyes were very intent on... well... their spy.

Fong shrugged, looked up, caught Shunsui's look and her stance straightened. "Maybe it is, young sir," she said neutrally, but then shook her mood off. "No, you are... uncomfortably accurate in your assessment."

"Then you should go with Daisuke-san. Keep them both safe," Jyuushiro said, putting something of the same tone he'd taken with the villagers into his words.

Fong chuckled. "And you're getting entirely too good at that too, Ukitake-kun, for I shall obey your order, sir."

Jyuushiro blinked, disarmed and confused.

"But you must take care of my villagers, yes?" Fong asked. "I've cultivated them for a few decades as a safe hiding hole while watching Shiba's doings. It surprised me when you defended them, but you will keep doing so?"

Jyuushiro nodded automatically at the tone, and nodded again when he actually comprehended the content. "Yes, ma'am, we shall."

"Ma'am..." Fong shook her head. "You really don't care about me being one of the Common Dead, hm?"

"Not really. Daisuke-san is one, too, isn't he?"

"Yes." Fong's tone sounded lost all of a sudden. "Yes, he is."

"And, in my book, neither of you are particularly common. Go on then." Shunsui made gentle shoo'ing motions.

"Right." Fong Jin Wei sounded bemused. She bowed low to them both. "Take care, you two."

"Aye," they chorused and bowed back.

Fong sprinted away in the direction of Yamamoto's stretcher, and Jyuushiro saw Daisuke-san bend to let Fong speak in his ear. The smile on the older man's face made Jyuushiro grin. A warm hand closed on Jyuushiro's, and he turned his hand to hold Shunsui's quietly. There was a determination about Shunsui that Jyuushiro hadn't ever felt before. It was new and Jyuushiro rather liked it. He looked up at Shunsui only to find dark eyes trained on him.

"What _are_ you thinking, Shiro-san?"

Jyuushiro shrugged, but Shunsui quirked one eyebrow.

"Tell me. Anything that can make you smile like that is worth knowing."

"Well, I hope that Daisuke-san invites Fong to the Academy..."

"But there's more, isn't there? You're looking at me differently."

Jyuushiro fumbled for words, not sure what would make sense and what wouldn't, but with Shunsui watching him like that he had to say something. "Well, you're stronger and more sure, and I think it feels good on you."

"Stronger?" Shunsui looked taken aback. "I don't..." He trailed off uncertainly.

Jyuushiro frowned and shook his head. "Not just stronger, but also... I think..." His voice dropped with uncertainty. "I think it's because you understand that you're not alone."

"Not alone?" Shunsui's eyes had widened in surprise, and the hand wrapped about Jyuushiro's tightened. For an instant, Jyuushiro wanted to take his words back, not because he was sure he was wrong, but because he was unsure if he was entirely right in saying it to Shunsui. The big man might reject what was said so baldly. Jyuushiro searched Shunsui's face for understanding or rejection, and finally took a breath when Shunsui nodded.

"You're... right," Shunsui said slowly. "It's odd, knowing that other people can rely on me, or that I can depend on them. No, truly, that I can depend on you." Shunsui touched Jyuushiro gently on the chest. "That you'll just be there, as strong as I am, and never back down. You make it possible to hope that my parents will find Kali, that Unohana will heal to her full abilities, and that Kaoru and Hayato will do all that they can do. Most of all, that every one of those people also needs me to do what I can do, and that I might actually not fail them. That's very new to me."

"You won't fail," Jyuushiro assured him.

Shunsui chuckled. "Not so long as you're beside me."

Jyuushiro tilted his head. "Whereas, I think that if I fell, you would keep doing all that you were capable of, not less."

Full lips twisted into a frown. "Let's not speak of that."

"But I need for you to know, Shunsui, that I think you would do everything within your power for those you were protecting. Even if I had to leave your side," Jyuushiro said quietly. "Everything."

Shunsui's hand closed almost painfully tight about Jyuushiro's, but Jyuushiro didn't wince, didn't let go. He hung on.

Shunsui finally sighed and bowed his head. "I believe you, Jyuushiro. I believe you, but I'd rather it went the other way, even so."

* * *

Shunsui watched the last of the Army leave the caves while standing by the front entrance. The air outside held a hint of the spring that was to come. Sharp, cold, but laden with water and the promise of growth and warmth to come. Hayato stood next to him, looking half a foot taller now that the noble youth was in the open air.

"So much for the army you brought, Hayato," Shunsui said.

"Just rub it in, why don't you?" Hayato said with a grin. "Well, can I take watch out here?"

"Sure. It'll be good to have advanced knowledge if any of the Hollows find the cave from this side," Shunsui said. "Do you have a way to talk to us if you do see something?"

"I was thinking of just borrowing one of the villager's kids to do the running from the peak back into the caves," Hayato said with a grin. "They're small and fast, and I can protect one kid pretty easily."

"Or at least provide enough distraction the kid'll get through, hm?"

"Well, on a mountain top, I'll be just fine, I think," Hayato said, keen eyes glancing up at the sun. "So long as the sun's up."

"Well, it's just mid-day, so we should be fine for a while, then." Shunsui got up and Hayato stood with him. "When it's dark, come on inside, it'll be more defensible."

"You mean, it'll be a much more solid trap." Hayato shook his head. "Still hate being underground, but you're right, there's fewer hidden approaches."

"Right."

"All right then. I'll see you."

Hayato nodded and grinned. "Yes. See you, and remember, send one of the kids."

Shunsui walked back into the caves, found a boy that was fighting with the others, and sent him up top. The kid seemed eager to take on anyone, and the peace that resulted in the living areas seemed worthwhile.

Jyuushiro was helping Unohana with fortifying the makeshift hospital when Shunsui appeared. Yamada-ji was taking care of the wounded, and with most of the military folks moved out, the villagers had decided to all move into the single cave with its one, defensible entrance. Shunsui was impressed to find Kaoru actually sleeping on one of the pallets, while Jyuushiro fumed.

"There is only one entrance and exit," Jyuushiro grumbled. "There is no other way out if there are overwhelming forces at the entrance."

"Well, it's not like you could move anyone in here, even if we did, right?" Shunsui asked.

The patients were down to just a quarter of what had been there: anyone that was at all mobile had been taken with the troops. Of those that were left, some were in plain clothing instead of their uniforms. Unohana had gone around telling the wounded about the decision of the Clans, and several of the Academy students had lent their uniforms to the able-bodied villagers.

"True." Jyuushiro sighed in exasperation. "True. But I really hate not having any way they could get out if we were to be caught."

"I'm not sure we could take it even if there was one," Shunsui said, and saw the truth hit home as Jyuushiro sobered. "We're here just to delay the inevitable, not to stop it from happening."

Jyuushiro's eyes narrowed. "I can't help trying to win, though, Shunsui."

"And I won't stop you," Shunsui said with a smile. "If those things get past the Ito brothers, and you figure out a way for us to win, then we will all be in your debt."

That was when the whole cave rocked with an explosion. Pebbles pattered down from above as everyone looked at each other in astonishment. Even through the stone walls, Shunsui sensed Ito Indra's fiery rage, hotter than a blazing forest fire, rise even higher. Another shock shook the foundations of the earth they stood on, and Indra's fire snuffed out.

Shunsui sighed. "I guess you'd better think fast, Jyuushiro."

"Aye," Jyuushiro said with a sigh. "I guess I'd better."

Together, they walked to the cave's entrance.


	36. Fight to Protect

_Author's Note: I think I'll start off with an apology for taking so long to update this fic. It's been a long, strange journey with this story and I think I finally have the last few chapters here. I'm committed to finishing this, and I'm very happy to say that Incandescens has been wonderful about beta'ing this and supporting my writing of this creature._

_Thank you all for sticking with me and with these boys, even as the Bleach universe has gone on and blown a few of these things out of the water. It's still been a really fun write._

_- Liralen Li_

* * *

The road to the Shiba Estates was long, possibly too long, Fong thought, as yet another wave of Hollows slid down the valley walls. They seemed to be coming from all over, drawn to reiatsu like bees to honey, and Fong wondered how on earth Kuchiki Ren had thought this way was going to be better than staying in the defensible caves. At least the Hollows were warier than they had been even half a mile ago; they were edging toward the humans rather than just barreling into them at high speed.

Maybe it was the slickness of the slopes due to the light spring snow that was beginning to fall. The pale, fat flakes were drifting through the sky, as aimlessly as the Clan members who drifted before and after the main pack of Academy students.

The students had wisely gathered around Yamamoto's stretcher and Uekiya Daisuke's erect and bandaged form. They defended each others' backs with great discipline when the packs of Hollows came. The Hollows were learning to avoid the phalanx when there was so much easier prey all around. The nobles clumped together in their family groups, a few were going it alone, and the Hatsuzora...

Fong stumbled over the sea-blue-covered body of yet another Hatsuzora retainer, and swore. At least there were two piles of dust nearby, so it might not have been outright murder. She scanned those that were left and only saw three sea-blue robes.

She stalked back to the Shihouin group, which was mostly the retainers of the Ito family. They had accompanied Indra and Rudra to the caves, and they were all knotted together, fighting half a dozen Hollows. The enemy were well occupied with the warriors, so Fong started with a run and flipped up onto the shoulders of one of the attacking Hollows. After interacting with Kyouraku-kun's zanpakutou, Fong had realized that she could push what reiatsu she had into her personal blade, a slender dagger that had been hers since childhood. It always felt like a part of her, a simple extension of her hand and arm, and now she concentrated on that feeling, intensifying it, pushing reiatsu into the dagger until shining steel sank into white bone.

The Hollow blew to dust, and she fell to crouch at one of the Ito warriors' feet. He stepped back in surprise, and a Hollow missed its swing at him. Behind Fong's back, reiatsu gusted past her, smelling of green growing things. The Hollows all turned to look, and she grinned at how Uekiya Daisuke could be a distraction without striking a blow. She jumped up, aiming her knife point at the underside of the jaw of a distracted Hollow, and it blew away without even a bellow.

Working together now, the Ito retainers, Daisuke, and Fong cleared the Hollows from around them, and Fong approached the lead retainers.

"Why haven't you joined up with the students?" Fong asked, letting her exasperation show.

"We can take care of ourselves," Sasaki Kyo said, affronted. From what Fong remembered of the young lieutenant, he had more pride than sense, and had been assigned to the Ito clan in spite of his protests.

"What, and deprive them of your strength?" Fong asked sweetly. "They're guarding an entirely helpless bankai user. Why aren't you protecting them? What would Ito-sama say? I know that my Master would be most displeased to hear that you held back your arm."

She watched Sasaki blink and regroup. "Your..." His eyes went wide. "Oh... Your Master..."

Fong pursed her lips in annoyance.

Sasaki gave Fong an uncertain look. She bowed low to him, with the secret flourish of the House of Godly Gears, and took a great deal of satisfaction in seeing him blanch. He hurriedly turned to urge his people toward the cluster of students, "We must protect them. Shihouin-sama would have us do so."

"Well done," said a soft voice in a tone that Fong hadn't heard for decades. Uekiya Daisuke stepped forward, swinging his naginata in one fist. "And was that... You don't have a zanpakutou, do you?"

She shook her head. "I'm not allowed, Uekiya-san."

"You, of all people, should call me Daisuke," he said ruefully. She shook her head vigorously. A fingertip touched the hilt of her knife, and with a shock, Fong found that she could _feel _his touch as if it were a caress against her skin. "You're quite good at hiding."

Fong couldn't find words, so she just nodded and looked at the ground.

"Well, well, it looks like they can learn," Uekiya said quietly. "Or maybe the first duckling's example has taught the others as well."

Fong looked up to see all the other small scatterings of nobles slowly gathering around Yamamoto's stretcher. "Oh, thank Heaven and Earth," she breathed.

One very harried looking man, half-balding and dressed in Hatsuzora blue, ran up to them, fell on his knees, and knocked his head on the ground. Utterly affronted by a nobleman putting himself so low to her, Fong tried to raise him up, but he refused to budge. She remembered seeing him in the cave. He had been one of the three people with enough awareness of the situation to use a kido spell against the Hollow that had attacked Yamamoto.

"Leave him be," Uekiya commanded. Fong obeyed, but crouched by Uekiya's side. She couldn't stand up while the noble was so far down. "What is going on?"

"I am Takahashi Shirou," the man said. "I am the last remaining Hatsuzora representative, and I throw myself upon your mercy."

"You are welcome to our help," Uekiya interrupted. "You need not make pledges that might..."

"Might jeopardize me further?" Takahashi's voice edged close enough to hysteria to make Fong's teeth grind. "I thought that since we were all armed and capable and had already cut through this path once before that it would be safer than being trapped like a rat under stone, but this..."

"I'm not sure what you're complaining about," Kuchiki Ren drawled. "We're fine. Maybe it was the quality of your..." The Kuchiki contingent stood behind him; a few were cut or bruised, but all were standing. Fong counted again just to be sure, but the numbers matched the one that she'd known when they'd left the caves.

"My leaders are dead," Takahashi bit the words out. "With our Lord cut down before our eyes, how else would we react?"

Ryuu Hinata laughed and her contempt poured from her like an icy mist off a mountain. "Ten years ago, the head of our clan was cut down before our eyes by the Lord of Hatsuzora. We reacted with rage, not fear. You should be cutting all the Hollows down that killed your people, not sobbing in fear."

Uekiya frowned. "Lady," he said with reproof, "a little more understanding would be appreciated." Ryuu Hinata snorted and looked away. "It's easier when we're all trying to survive the trip to the Shiba Estates."

The Ryuu hadn't fared quite so well as the Kuchiki. There were a few wounded being supported by their counterparts, and Fong counted at least three heads missing. Hinata bared her teeth at Uekiya, but nodded. "So be it. We shall combine our strength with yours and that poor Hatsuzora lordling. Just don't try to order us around."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Uekiya said, peacefully.

"Good."

"Though I would suggest that we form up again. There are more Hollows coming."

Takahashi Shirou struggled to his feet with a whine like that of a kicked dog. Fong sighed and got to her feet as well. The sheer mass of the white bodies looked like a cloud against the mountain, and it flowed down the hillside like an avalanche. There was a smaller Adjucha urging them on, like a sheepdog with a flock of bony, flesh-eating sheep, and the Adjucha looked far too much like it knew what it was doing.

"Whose great idea was it to make this run?" Fong muttered under her breath. "And how many has he lost?"

Uekiya lifted his chin, his eyes narrowing at her. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Probably, Gardener. Probably." Sometimes Fong cursed her years in the shadows, but now, seeing the understanding and respect for her ability to anticipate in Uekiya's eyes, she found herself glad.

"Then we'd better survive this to see if you're right."

Fong groaned. If her supposition that the Kuchiki leader had some sort of control over the Hollows was right, it was going to make for a horrible fight. "I hate being right."

The screaming horde of Hollows tumbled down the too-steep slope and hit the first of the defenders. Grabbing Uekiya's shoulder, Fong acted on her instincts and pulled both of them to stand next to Kuchiki Ren and his retainers. Yamamoto's stretcher bearers automatically rallied to them, swelling the Kuchiki ranks, and the wave of white broke around them. To Fong's bitter satisfaction, none of the on-coming Hollows attacked Kuchiki Ren directly.

Kuchiki Ren looked back over his shoulder at her, and his dark eyes met Fong's gaze. The flick of his intent felt like the lick of a lash against her soul, and for an instant she wondered if she'd made a fatal mistake. If Ren could control the Hollows, then he could easily set them all on her and Uekiya. To Fong's surprise, Ren smiled at Fong, a wry, ironic twist of thin lips. In that instant, a Hollow snarled and went for his throat, claws outstretched.

Without hesitating, Fong flicked her knife up and threw it into the mask of the attacking Hollow. It burst to dust.

Ren-san whirled, picked the blade up off the ground. Fong frowned at feeling the cool touch of Ren-san's fingers on her soul. The noble's slender eyebrow lifted, but he took the three paces over to her and handed it to her hilt first before gifting her with just a slender a bow. She bowed deeply back, and watched, troubled, as Ren-san turned his back to her and returned to the fight.

Uekiya's voice floated to her above the screams and clashes of metal on bone, "It's not the first time you've been wrong, too."

Fong sighed at her own gut feeling that this was all betrayal well-masked. Her reflection in the steel of her returned knife looked no happier. "I know. I know. And I really wouldn't mind being wrong now. Let's go."

Uekiya nodded, and they turned to face their enemies, together.

* * *

Ryuu Hayato sat on the peak's crown, under a pale late winter sky. Fat flakes of snow drifted down: spring snow, wet snow, not the dry powder that he was used to in his Northern mountain home. A black cloud was moving in from the Ryuu mountains on the wings of a rising wind, swallowing the far peaks in mist, and Hayato narrowed his eyes to see.

Those traveling East back to the Shiba Estates were far out of his sight, and even out of Hayato's sense of reiatsu. He closed his eyes and felt around him. His father, Lord Kurogane, had taught Hayato that the Ryuu clan's farseeing ways were part and parcel of the land they lived in. On the tip of the mountain, Hayato sat cross-legged, the bare stone hard and chill through his robes. With a charred stick from the fires in the caves, he drew a circle diagram with four quadrants and wrote characters in each quarter. He sat back, contemplated the drawing, and then recited the kido spell his father had taught him. Hayato pushed reiatsu into the spell and felt the spell bite. Wings of power spread, and his own spirit forces swirled up in the flutter of transparent feathers, and he could suddenly see for miles out.

A few Hollows on the slopes showed up hungry and black. Crouched next to Hayato, the living reiatsu of the messenger boy Kaoru had insisted on pulsed with warm light. Hayato could see all the souls clustered in the cave beneath him. Unohana and Kaoru blazed brighter than the others, and even little Yamada Itsuke seemed to glow. _Huh... guess the old man has more to him than meets the eye, _Hayato thought, amused. Something solid shone, much like the constructed spell before him, from where it was nailed to the top of the doorway into the caves. Hayato hadn't noticed it before and now wondered what it was and who had put it there.

Further underground all sight grew weaker. Hayato could barely see the lights that were Jyuushiro and Shunsui hurrying further down toward a huge pool of something sucking and Hollow. _That's going to hurt if it gets through, what in the world are just the two of them doing facing that? _Hayato frowned, pulling his attention up. They were walking into a trap and he wondered if they knew it. With that huge a reiatsu signature they'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to miss it, so they had to know. Hayato growled. This was when he hated having to rely on others. He couldn't abandon his post just to rush down there and help them out. Instead, he pushed his attention to the hillsides around his perch. There were the black dots of Hollows on the slope, but none were right by the entrance. They were leftovers from when all the able nobles and students had left and cleared the way to Shiba.

Hayato still felt odd about why and how the Clans had left them to their own devices. He didn't like parting from his Aunt Hinata, but she'd been rude to his teammates in a way he couldn't ignore. Besides, she would be better able than Hayato to protect Yamamoto-sama, for all that she had drawn Hayato aside later to argue that Yamamoto-sama should stay in the safety of the caves with the rest of the wounded. That was when Hayato realized what kind of play Daisuke-san had made in putting Yamamoto-sama's unconscious body in the care of the able nobles. While Hayato might have words with her, he trusted her to stay on his dad's good side. Hayato's father and the head of the Ryuu Clan had invested in the Academy by teaching his sword skills to all comers. By putting Yamamoto in her care, she had to step up and show Lord Ryuu that she would put her sword where her loyalties lay. Hayato suspected that was also true of the Shihouin and Kuchiki representatives as well, since their clans backed the School overtly.

Satisfied with his thoughts on that matter, Hayato circled wider, feeling like a hawk on the wing, gliding and riding the currents above the peaks. It seemed all clear, but the brewing storm nagged at him like an aching tooth. He sighed and flew toward the curtain of snow, and as he feared, under the shadow of the cloud was a horde of Hollows as far as Hayato could see.

In an instant, Hayato snapped back into his body. He was swearing before he could even orient himself enough to stand. The formation of the Hollows was too precise. It was chilling to see them all gathered, respecting the boundary of the shadow above them, moving together in concert. Something small, hard and warm collided into him, and Hayato managed to come back to himself enough to not hit the boy who was struggling to keep Hayato balanced and upright.

"To the caves," Hayato spat out. "Help me," he managed through the backlash of the shattered spell.

The two of them tumbled down the steep slope, Hayato desperately trying to find his footing. In his head, Hayato started sorting images from the glimpse he'd seen, and he realized that there was one smaller Hollow and several gigantic ones urging on the white mass of hungry dead. A few yards further into the run, Hayato was coordinated enough to scoop the child into his arm and use shunpo in huge leaps down the slope.

The boy whooped in glee, making Hayato smile, distracting him from his fear of entering the cramped caves again. Getting through the narrowed entrance was easier while holding the kid; he gave Hayato something to concentrate on. Stepping through the entrance, Hayato wrinkled his nose. The caves smelled of blood and sweat and too many people confined in one place.

Unohana was in the center of the mass of wounded. She was bending to check a dressing, and she looked up when Hayato rushed in the door. There was a burst of air and Kaoru appeared, on the run, using shunpo too. To Hayato's surprise, the appearance of the arrogant Kaoru made Hayato feel better. There was something about having his teammate, even if he couldn't have his clan folk, that settled Hayato in much the same way. He wasn't alone in this mess.

"Hollows! A huge group of them! Moving in under an oncoming storm!" The enormity of the careful strategy hit Hayato. "They're organized, somehow. They're all moving together. It's weird. It's like they have some kind of leader."

"Leader?!" The shock in Kaoru's voice helped. Hayato nodded.

"Running behind a bunch of them. It looked like it was herding 'em."

"Like some kind of cattle dog?" Unohana looked perplexed as she washed her hands in a basin of now bloody water.

"They are headed toward the entrance from the north?" Kaoru asked, mouth pursed.

"Yes."

"Good." Inexplicably Kaoru looked like a cat who had eaten a canary. "There are three separate paths to the entrance of these caves. The major one was the road leading to and from the Shiba Estates, but there are two other arroyos and valleys that open into a flat area that shelters the entrance."

"It usta be a mine," Yamada-ji cut in. "S' why they put it so near the main road between lands."

"Yes, the walls are too regular and have been shaped by human hands and minds," Kaoru said patiently. "I noticed that in here."

Hayato looked up with a frown. He hadn't bothered to look mostly because he hated being underground so much it didn't really matter to him. But sure enough the ceilings, while rough, were mostly of a similar height, and the walls of caves looked as if they were cut to clear a space. Since they were near the entrance, it was probably a staging area or something for people and equipment.

"The passageway down is similarly cut, but I was thinking more of the surface and the roads and obvious ways to the entrance." Kaoru smiled. "Since they were so obvious, I set up traps on the routes. Nothing fancy, just some of the explosives that the army brought with it in case of a cave-in. I persuaded my cousin to leave some of it when he went back to the Estates."

There was a boom, and he saw Kaoru nod. They all looked up as dust and pebbles rained down form the walls.

"I guess that mean they're coming." Hayato got to his feet.

"Surely a hundred foot section of stone wall would take care of..." Another boom shook the caverns, this one from a different direction than the first explosion. Kaoru's eyebrows went up in surprise. "That's along the Northern pass... does that mean...?"

Hayato shook his head. "When I said that there were a lot of them, I meant that there were a lot of them."

"Thousands?"

"I'm not a numbers man," Hayato said ruefully. "All I knew was that I couldn't see the end of them..."

Eyes widened all around him.

"It's like seeing the mountain mist come in as snow, but every flake turns out to be a Hollow," Hayato said, spreading his hands in resignation. "Maybe your cousin Ren really did know what he was doing when he left with Yamamoto and the others. I thought this place would be so much more defensible, but between that and what Jyuushiro and Shunsui are up against, I don't know anymore."

"You saw what they were up against?" Kaoru asked.

"Not exactly. All I could see was a vast pool of Hollow hunger, creeping up like the tide," Hayato said, frowning. At the look on Kaoru's face, he suddenly remembered that Kali was at the other end of that particular passage.

Everyone in the cave was staring at him, and Hayato gulped.

Then Unohana's voice calmly said, "Then we'll just have to defend this entrance."

"What about Ukitake-kun and Kyouraku-kun?" Yamada-ji asked nervously.

"They will not die," Kaoru said coolly, and Hayato straightened at the tone. "And we will not die, either. I have reasons to see this through."

Kali. Hayato met Kaoru's eyes and they nodded to each other. "Well, then, I'll get going back outside, then."

"You cannot go alone," Unohana protested.

"He will not," Kaoru answered. "I will go with him."

That was when Hayato remembered the glowing thing set above the doorway. Curious, he stepped through the entrance, out of the cave, and looked up. There was a tattered charm made of ink, ribbons, silk, and paper stuck to a crack in the wall with a sliver of wood. The characters for protection stood out in the bold black sweeps of an intent brush. Hayato walked up to it and tried to see it with his reiatsu sensing, and sure enough, it glowed bright.

"Ukitake-kun put it up there," Unohana said softly. "I think it will help."

Hayato nodded.

"I'm not sure how..." she said ruefully.

"It's a protection spell," Kaoru said. "I guess we'll see how effective it is, and if we both know that all the wounded in here are safe..."

"We'll be able to fight all the better," Hayato finished. "Do you have a strategy for us, Kuchiki Kaoru?"

Kaoru actually smiled at that, making Hayato grin. "Indeed, Hayato. I suspect we must defend this entry to allow Jyuushiro and Shunsui the space and time to deal with their problem. Since our enemy seems to be coming at us from outside, let us discuss it under the sky, where you will be more comfortable."

Hayato shook his head. "You're making it easier on me, Kaoru, should I be nervous?"

"Probably... probably."

* * *

Jyuushiro and Shunsui raced down the dank stone tunnel. The previous stand they had made with Daisuke-san had been ineffective. Yamamoto had done all the real work, beating off the Hollows and sealing the passage, keeping the rest of the horde from spilling through. Remembering the unending flow of Hollows, Jyuushiro didn't think he liked their odds, but the Ito brothers had fallen and had to be rescued.

Torches flickered, set in the walls of the stone tunnel at regular intervals, only going dark when Jyuushiro and Shunsui neared where they'd been before. Shunsui grabbed the last lit torch and Jyuushiro grabbed an unlit one. They ran into the darkness by Shunsui's light. There was no knowing how far the darkness would extend, and Jyuushiro felt better with a backup. Soon loose pebbles and rolling rock made for tricky footing. The ceiling turned jagged, blackened, and broken.

"Careful," Jyuushiro cautioned.

Shunsui nodded, slowed, and held his torch up. Jyuushiro saw the blackened ring of the blast that had broken open the ceiling to allow the rock to pour down. A pile of loose rock had blocked the tunnel. Now there was a new opening, near the top of the mound, and the edges glistened in the flickering light of Shunsui's flames.

Following Shunsui, Jyuushiro climbed up and pushed himself through the new hole. The closed-in confines were oppressive. The roof of the new tunnel was rippled, cooled from when it had been molten on the near side, and thick with an ice-like substance that seemed to absorb the light and never melted. Jyuushiro didn't like touching the slick black surface, so flattened into the rubble to avoid it.

"What is that stuff?" Shunsui asked thoughtfully, once he'd climbed out the other end.

"No idea," Jyuushiro said, as they moved forward again.

"It felt..."

"... bad," Jyuushiro said shortly. That the Hollows had created the substance bothered him. They were acting in concert, and they were making things that they shouldn't be able to make. Both indicated a level of intelligence that was unprecedented.

"I'm worried about the Ito brothers," Shunsui said, sounding almost lazy, and the tone told Jyuushiro all he needed to know about Shunsui's concern.

"Likewise," Jyuushiro said.

The floor smoothed out, and they both started running. They suddenly came into a brightly lit cavern. Their path continued, cut smoothly between mounds of stone. It twisted right, then left, and another jog to the right, and Jyuushiro saw a dogpile of Hollows covering two still forms. He threw his now useless torch to the side, and saw Shunsui's torch fly like a comet at the backs of the rummaging Hollows. Swords left sheaths in a hiss of steel, and before the Hollows could react, six of them had burst to dust.

Yelling, the Jyuushiro and Shunsui pressed their advantage. Jyuushiro got his blade into the backs of two more Hollows, who were too preoccupied with eating. Shunsui's two blades swung in deadly precision, taking three more. With dust flying everywhere, the rest of the Hollows scrambled back. A right to left swing of Jyuushiro's single sword at eye level smashed two more masks, and Jyuushiro won his goal. He straddled Indra's mauled body, and put his back to Shunsui, who stood over Rudra. The startled, confused crowd of Hollows milled about, and one found courage or hunger enough to attack. Fending off claws and teeth with a screech of steel, Jyuushiro snarled and powered through an overhand strike that shattered claws and sank the point home.

"Shit," Shunsui spat. "There's a lot of them."

"Yes." Jyuushiro coughed, but nothing attacked again immediately, so he took a look around.

A light source glowed far above their heads, at the top of the natural cavern. Jagged spikes of rock hung from the ceiling. A like sheet of spikes created walls to the right and far off to the left. There was a single open path, which is why the Hollows could only come at them in twos or threes. Much of the cave was filled with lumps or columns of damp rock, but the path from the entrance to this point was clear. The open space continued further into the cave, but an edge or cliff fell off just a few dozen yards to their left. A gap of darkness yawned beyond that.

Another Hollow flung itself at Jyuushiro, and he had to take a step forward, parrying claws to the side, getting inside its distance, before drawing back his blade to strike at its jaw. While the dust still flew another bony body slammed into Jyuushiro's side, and he swore and pushed back, trying not to be overborne.

"Jyuushiro!"

There was a crunch of bone, and the weight was off him. Jyuushiro wiped the dust from his eyes. "Thank you."

Shunsui grunted an acknowledgment and kept his gaze on the watching Hollows. "What now?" he asked.

Jyuushiro dropped to one knee by Indra, and he pressed fingertips against Indra's throat. A faint pulse beat. "Indra's alive," he said softly. Indra's leg was bent at a very bad angle. Cuts and gashes crisscrossed his body, and bites had been taken out of his thigh and shoulder. He wasn't going anywhere. However, even unconscious Indra still clutched his zanpakutou in one hand. Rudra chose that moment to moan and stir, blood trickled sluggishly from several deep cuts across Rudra's torso and his gnawed throat, and one of his legs looked badly chewed.

"How the hell do we protect them both?" Shunsui asked perplexed.

"I think we need to attack," Jyuushiro said, thinking it was going to be the only way to protect themselves, much less the brothers. "Drive the Hollows farther back, see if there's a good stoppage point on this path, where one of us can hold it at a time."

"But we can't leave them," Shunsui protested. "If the Hollows get around us, they'd have no protection."

"Well, we can't let the Hollows around us anyway, or else they'd get to the villagers, and the whole point was to keep them bottled up," Jyuushiro said. Doubtfully, Jyuushiro added, "I guess we could take them with us?"

Rudra groaned, twitched, and opened his eyes. He looked at Jyuushiro and Shunsui without comprehension, but then he took a deep breath and recognition brightened his features. "Kyouraku-kun. Ukitake-kun..."

Jyuushiro nodded. "Yes. Can you move?"

Rudra blinked and slowly sat up, dragging the chewed on leg. He shook his head, his hands patting the ground around him. He found his unsheathed zanpakutou and laid it across his lap. "No. I don't think I can, but that means that I will stay by Indra."

"We're going to try and drive them back, some may get around us," Shunsui said, curtly.

Rudra smiled, shifted with a wince, and then relaxed with a rock against his back. "There's a bridge ahead, spanning a wide river that can't be easily crossed. Do what you have to do, Kyouraku-kun, I can cleanse a few, if they get by you."

Shunsui's gaze met Rudra's. Rudra nodded, and Shunsui looked away. Jyuushiro could feel the regret and ache of loss in Shunsui's reiatsu.

"Let's go?" Jyuushiro suggested. Shunsui nodded, tightened his grip on his zanpakutou, and together, they attacked the standing Hollows.

Jyuushiro found himself grateful for all the times they had fought together. They could sense where the other was through the chaos of the melee, knowing how the other struck or was unguarded, allowed the other to hit or shield as necessary. It was no longer thinking of right-this or left-that; together, they blurred through the motions of what had to happen to lay their enemies low. While Shunsui side-swiped one Hollow, Jyuushiro blocked the jaws of another Hollow from hitting Shunsui's shoulder. While Jyuushiro swung, taking out the legs of an over-eager attacker, Shunsui made the head-shot to cleanse.

Step by labored step, they cut their way forward, and the Hollows fell back and then further back. There was a sudden scramble, a splash that sounded as if it came from below their feet. They took another few yards of ground, and Jyuushiro could see a natural bridge of stone spanning a broad chasm in the floor of the cave. Running water burbled below. It had cut the open cavern in half, but for the rough bridge of some stone darker than the walls or the rest of the cave floor itself.

"That's it," Jyuushiro said. "Exactly what Rudra said."

"It is." Shunsui sprang forward in a sudden flurry, cleansing two. The rest shoved their brethren back, trying to get away and giving Shunsui and Jyuushiro more room. "Can you break the bridge?" Shunsui asked, breathlessly.

"I don't know, but I'll find out." Jyuushiro put up his hands, trusting Shunsui to protect him while he cast the spell. Remembering the Academy research he'd done with Hoshiko-chan, Jyuushiro tried weave some of the same reiatsu he got from his zanpakutou into the spell. It was distracting hearing the voice in his head ask, _Jyuushiro? Can you hear my name? _He couldn't shut it out and still get what he needed, so he let the mild voice speak and tried to call out the spell over it.

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring." The inner voice suddenly fell into alignment with Jyuushiro's, saying the exact same words he did. "Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!"

A wave of yellow energy roared from Jyuushiro. Wailing Hollows caught in the blast frayed, staggered, and fell into dust. Three surprised the hell out of Jyuushiro and leaped into the air and flew. The bridge and cavern floor shook but remained whole, but several jagged teeth of stone fell out of the ceiling. Two stone spears impaled flying Hollows. The third Hollow dodged and twisted.

"Shunsui!"

Shunsui frowned, raised a palm, and sent a fireball after the flying Hollow. The spell hit, and the Hollow fell into the ravine. There was a wail and a splash. Drained and spent, Jyuushiro bent over, fists on knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Well, you bought us some time," Shunsui commented. "And that cleansing wasn't half-bad, either."

Jyuushiro wheezed a laugh, and he sat down where he stood. The seething crowd of Hollows at the far end of the bridge swayed toward him, but Shunsui let off another quick fire kido, and they retreated.

"Can you go back and carry the Ito brothers away from here?" Jyuushiro asked.

"Not if you're staying here," Shunsui said in a far too knowing tone.

"Be that way," Jyuushiro said with rather more bitterness than he'd expected, and he saw Shunsui's eyebrow rise. "Sorry, I'm not sure where that came from," he said apologetically.

"Well, given that there are probably..." Shunsui squinted at the far end of the bridge. "... a few hundred Hollows within hailing distance, who are doing their best to eat us and everyone we've vowed to protect, I'd say fear, despair, and a few tasty morsels of 'I can't move so I might as well just give up and die here' are all shoving away at your vaunted composure."

That made Jyuushiro snort an involuntary laugh. The Hollows surged back at the sound, which intrigued Jyuushiro. "I think they feed off despair."

"You think?" Shunsui's smooth tones were maddeningly calm.

"And whose composure is so damned vaunted anyway?" Jyuushiro said with a smile up at Shunsui.

"You do keep just jumping in," Shunsui said, disarmingly. "Not to say that I'm not scared witless, but I'm very thankful for whomever made that light." Shunsui tipped his head back to get a good look at the cavern ceiling.

"Huh?"

Jyuushiro looked up. There was definitely a light source up there, bright enough to fill the cavern. It exuded power. Closing his eyes, Jyuushiro extended his senses and got hit with a flash of exuberant rage.

"Oh. Indra," Jyuushiro breathed. The spell that burned above them was fueled by the youngest Ito's life force and was distinctly flavored with the man's spirit.

"Yeah," Shunsui said. "Think you got it in one."

There was a ripple through the crowd on the far side. Jyuushiro saw all the bone masks turn toward the wall behind the gathered souls. There was lowing, the sound of breaking stone, and then darkness bulged from shadow. Three Gillian broke through stone and started grabbing the smaller Hollows. All the white masks reflected the light from Indra's fire in the middle of the room. A tiny figure jumped from the roof of the cave. It spread white wings, soared, and landed on a gigantic shoulder. The Gillian raised a huge, clawed hand far too late to swat at the creature and bellowed when its arm came off with a sound of tearing meat.

The Hollows broke away like surf breaking on rocks. They scattered, fleeing in all directions. Many went through the openings the Gillians had made. A few scampered over the bridge, but Shunsui stepped to meet them with his blades. He made quick work of the first few, the rest ran away from him, back into the chaos. More rose in flight, but this time spears of blue fire rose to take them from where Rudra sat. It seemed that Rudra could still throw kido.

Shunsui returned to stand by Jyuushiro. Together, they watched the Adjucha roar and take the Gillian apart. Horribly beautiful in its grace and speed, the Adjucha's slender jaws widened to a maw that gaped and gulped down blood, white skin, and splintered bone. Luckily for the panicking Hollows, the single Gillian was large enough to occupy the Adjucha for a while. The two other Gillian helped by smashing more walls while they escaped. Hollows pushed, shoved, and scrambled their way after them. That should have relieved Jyuushiro, to see the horde gone, but the weight of presence from the single remaining Hollow was more than the entirety of the crowd that had been there before.

It turned to regard them from across the bridge.

An immense intent pressed Jyuushiro to the rock floor. And it was flavored with the same power that had eaten the other Gillian in the tunnels before Yamamoto had come to rescue them. So it hadn't been hurt or killed by Yamamoto's blast. With a grunt, Jyuushiro fought to sit up, and then, because there was nothing better he could think of doing, Jyuushiro put his hands against the floor and worked to stand. Shunsui stood stock-still by Jyuushiro, fists tightening about the hilts of the long and short swords in his sash.

Jyuushiro finally made it to his feet, and Shunsui nodded without taking his gaze from their opponent on the far side.

"Good," said Shunsui. "You need to be up for this."

"You're going to hit it?" Jyuushiro asked, unsteadily.

"I don't see any other choice," Shunsui said, sounding rueful. "Do you?"

"Just one," Jyuushiro said.

Shunsui glanced at Jyuushiro, and Jyuushiro quirked a grin, swallowing his fear. "Let's attack it together. Not apart. Together."

Shunsui nodded. "Yes. Let's."

Jyuushiro readied his stance, felt Shunsui's reiatsu flare rise, and pushed all his will into raising his as well. Then he put one foot in front of the other, saw Shunsui's foot fall beside his, and they rushed the Adjucha together.

_TBC_


	37. Reflections

Shunsui charged forward. He ignored the clench of his gut, the conviction that they were both going to die, and the loudest voice in his head that said he was being stupid. It sounded an awful lot like the voice of his older brother Shonetsu. A wash of shame was followed by roaring rage, and Shunsui shoved the smaller of the two blades back into his belt to swing his long sword into a two-handed grip despite a shrill protest from the smaller blade.

They drew closer to the slender figure, and Shunsui could see it was nothing more than a boy, a teenager. He was beautiful, Shunsui thought wonderingly, fair and tall, with dark eyes and dead white skin. A bone helm covered one eye, curved in a caress over ivory hair, so pale as to almost be colorless. In sudden shock, Shunsui realized that the adjucha looked like Jyuushiro. The same high cheekbones, the wry smile, and long articulate hands wrapped about the hilt of a bone-white blade.

Feeling the hesitation within his heart, Shunsui cried out in protest and sprang forward, leaving Jyuushiro half a step behind. In all the books Yamamoto had given them, Shunsui had seen a few stories of higher-powered Hollows who did their best to deceive those who fought them.  
This was an enemy. One that was trying to take a shape that it thought Shunsui wouldn't hit, because Shunsui always hesitated. So gathering all his strength, Shunsui powered through a two-handed head shot with as much subtlety as trying to split a length of log with an axe. To Shunsui's horror, the boy didn't even raise his weapon.

Instead, the boy Hollow raised a left hand that was missing two fingers and said, "Tezcatlipoca, reflejas!"

In a conflict of emotion, Shunsui struck, but knew that he pulled the blow to the right. He felt his blade hit and sink into a shoulder, but before his bewildered eyes, nothing happened to the Hollow. Something warm and wet landed on the back of Shunsui's neck, and Jyuushiro made a startled grunt and Shunsui heard the sound of flesh falling to stone.

"No!" Shunsui cried out, whirling to look back. "What in hell's name?"

Blood flowed impossibly fast from the wound splitting open Jyuushiro's shoulder, the same shoulder Shunsui had hit on the Hollow. In the dream Shunsui had had in the cabin in the woods, on the way back to the Academy from home, he'd seen Jyuushiro dead, exactly like this, with exactly this horror of knowing that he was the one to deal the blow.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shunsui saw steel flash behind him. The adjucha laughed, and Shunsui felt the terrible violation of his own body by the cold edge of a sword. Shunsui screamed, jerked when the adjucha pulled the blade through his side, and fell into his inner world.

* * *

Shunsui was on fire. Again.

Arms and legs bound in funeral clothes, the coffin closed over his head, and the flames licking at his skin. The smoke and burning smell of his clothing and hair, the wet moist scent of heavy earth, and the odor of roasting all swirled around him, a maelstrom of pain.

Shunsui writhed and fought, tensing muscles against what should have been flimsy cloth, and despite an inner conviction that he would never break free, the cloth tore. A floating, burning thread wafted past his eyes, and Shunsui's wrist struck the inside of the wooden coffin. The fire ate at him, and he could feel the hissing and popping of his own flesh.

He screamed in agony, furious, terrified, and worst of all was the guilt and rage at himself. He'd killed Jyuushiro. There would be no rescue, no slender hand in his, no field of flowers. He struggled, crudely beating out the flames by throwing himself against the unyielding walls. When all the light was gone, Shunsui collapsed and sobbed in the darkness of his own despair.

* * *

The cut knocked all the wind out of Jyuushiro. It was as startling and forceful as jumping from a cliff and striking the surface of the sea. He fell, and his right side was utterly unresponsive to all his frantic commands to grasp, to balance, to damned well get up.

He saw the stone floor, close up, and heard Shunsui scream.

Jyuushiro tried to call out Shunsui's name, but only heard his own bubbling exhalation. Not just mismatched, but entirely outclassed, Jyuushiro thought wryly. The numbness of his hit side was starting to lift, and the promise of a world of pain flamed to life. The pain reminded Jyuushiro of the whipping, and when it rolled over him Jyuushiro dropped into a storm at sea.

The splash surprised him. It was real. It was wet. A rolling wave closed over his startled head. He was in his robes with his sandals on. The wood of the geta tugged his feet up. The wave tumbled him end to end, and he struggled to find his way up to the pockmarked surface of a sea under rain. But he could move. Unlike that body on the stone floor of the cavern, this one moved to his command, did what he needed, and he righted himself, struck for air, found it, and took a deep breath.

He rode the top of the next swell so that he could look around. There was no shore. He felt that it was his inner sea, but in utter chaos. Lightning struck nearby, and he could see the bright arms and legs of the charge spreading through the water in arc-bright tendrils.

Forty-foot tall rollers rose and fell, enormous hills of waters, obscuring his sight in all directions The sky was black with clouds and the wind whipped more water into his eyes.

Then arms closed around Jyuushiro's legs. He fought and gulped air before he was pulled down.

Looking for who or what held him, Jyuushiro saw a ragged mermaid with no face at all, just a pale, blank oval of flesh rubbing against his knees. She was pulling them both down into the swirling darkness. Jyuushiro writhed and tried to yank himself out of her grip, but her arms only tightened. Reaching for his sash, Jyuushiro realized that his sword was not there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flash of two fish coming toward him. Confused, Jyuushiro wondered if the fish were his sword or if his sword had become the fish.

_Both,_ said the voice in his head._Hear my name._

Jyuushiro tried to kick the mermaid, but she held on too tightly for him to lift his leg. He tried to hit her on the head, but she ducked the blow.

_What the hell can you do? _Jyuushiro thought at the fish. _You can't breathe for me, you can't fight this, can you?_

He was starting to run low on air. He could feel his lungs burning with the urge to take a breath, any breath, even if it was all sea water. He fought it with the patient will he'd used for a thousand dives for oysters or sea urchins, but never before had the sea urchins hung onto him and dragged him further down before. He knew that it was panic burning at his control, using his air, killing him.

The tactile memory of Shunsui's arms closing about him in the infirmary wrapped Jyuushiro close. That was true safety. Shunsui could fight this thing; together they could figure out a way. The panic faded, and Jyuushiro relaxed.

"Shunsui," Jyuushiro murmured, on a string of bubbles.

* * *

_"Shunsui..."_

Shunsui blinked in the dark at the familiar sound of Jyuushiro's voice.

"What? Jyuushiro?" Shunsui called out, his hands reaching out automatically, but he barked his knuckles on splintered wood.

_"Shunsui?"_

"Yes! Yes, I'm here! Where the fuck are you?" Shunsui slammed a fist into the lid and heard it crack. Dirt trickled in, a few pebbles here, a stream of dust there.

_"Here. I think I need help, Shunsui." _Jyuushiro's cool even tones made Shunsui frantic.

With a roar of rage and frustration, Shunsui slammed the lid again and again and again. He'd never fought the dream confinement before, never had a reason to for himself, but knowing that Jyuushiro was alive but in peril fueled him as nothing else could. The board above him cracked, split, and he pulled at the jagged end with his hands, ignoring the splinters and the deep cuts in his hands. The earth above him crumbled, buckled, and started to fall on him. Shunsui shoved and kicked the falling dirt into the box that confined him.

"He's never going to make it." The low, mocking voice of his zanpakutou was muffled by earth and distance.

Since Shunsui himself believed exactly the same thing, he didn't say a word, only snarled and fought harder.

"Hey! Dummy! Hear our names! Just... just listen! Please?" It was the high, clear, childish voice of his zanpakutou. She was pleading with him. Shunsui grabbed handfuls of soft earth and shoved them deep into his coffin, using his feet to pack it further into the bottom, clearing enough room for him to sit up in his box, shove his head through the opening he'd made. The earth was heavy, wet. "It's all falling apart out here, if you don't figure this out..."

He encountered a root with one groping hand, and he pulled on it and felt it snap. The earth shifted and gave.

Mud and rocks started to pour onto his head and body, filling the coffin in an instant, burying his lower body. On reflex, Shunsui brought his arms up not just to protect his head, but to keep an opening in front of his mouth and nose, so that there might be some room for him to breathe.

The fall slowed, settled around him, encasing him from the waist down. The smell of wet dirt pervaded everything, and he wiped the loose dirt from his face.

"Help me!" Shunsui yelled, loudly enough to dislodge another small shower, and he had to cough to get it out of his mouth.

"Did I hear a please?" The contralto sounded amused, but Shunsui was so relieved that they'd heard him at all it didn't matter.

"Please!" he yelled. "Help us!"

"Asshole!" the girl said, but it sounded like an aside, not aimed at him, and Shunsui heard a blade bite into soil.

"Pipsqueak." Earth scraped elsewhere as it moved, over his head. "Rules are rules. It's not the right game without rules."

They were arguing, but they were coming for him. Shunsui concentrated on keeping his head down so that the earth wouldn't cover his face, his hands up so he could use them to fend things from his head. He wiggled to try and loosen the earth around his legs and waist. He finally got enough leverage to shove some of the dirt back into the box. Using the bottom of the box and the growing mound of dirt for leverage for his legs, he inched up through the hole.

Battering his knees against the coffin lid, the wood cracked further and opened, so that Shunsui could get his legs under him. He was crouched in a fetal position in the small portion of space he could find. Reaching over his head, Shunsui tried to pull down more dirt. He opened it enough so that he could at least straighten his neck and back, but then it started to fall in on him too fast. He managed to get his hands and arms up again, but now everything from his chest down was buried.

The sounds above him started to move faster. It was a good thing too, because Shunsui felt like he was being squeezed to death by the weight all around him. He shouted to give the fear somewhere to go.

_"Shunsui, are you in trouble?"_

It seemed that Jyuushiro could hear him, too.

"Yes." It was hard to speak: Shunsui had to take a deeper breath to make more room for his chest and lungs, and he felt things shift and slide again. "Oh, no," he groaned and more dirt fell in on him.

_"Hang on." _The resolution in Jyuushiro's tone made tears spring to Shunsui's eyes. Shunsui wanted to say that he could do whatever it would take, that it was all going to be all right, but he didn't know that. The image of Jyuushiro lying broken and bleeding made Shunsui pound his forehead into the dirt.

_"Oh... you're here..." _Jyuushiro whispered.

And Shunsui couldn't help but wonder who it was who had joined Jyuushiro.

* * *

"Oh... you're here..."

They'd arrived. One dark. One light. Flying through the water in effortless grace. Realizing what they might be able to do, Jyuushiro marveled at their existence. Shunsui's voice still lingered in his ears.

"Please, help us," Jyuushiro pleaded.

"Us?" The doubled voice sounded surprised.

"Yes. Us." Jyuushiro's vision was going black around the edges, the pressure from the water made his ears ache, his nose burn, and his eyes feel too big for their sockets. "Please."

They flashed, one light, one dark, and the impact of their bodies against the grasping mermaid sent them all spinning through the depths. She screamed shrilly. The arms around his legs loosened their grip. Jyuushiro tumbled helplessly, unable to tell which way was up. He cried out, air leaving his collapsing lungs in a vast cloud of bubbles. Water pressed in on him, massive and implacable. Slick skin slipped under Jyuushiro's hands, a razor-sharp fin cut into his palms.

"Hang on!"

Jyuushiro did.

The surge of mighty muscles made the darkness lighten. Then Jyuushiro realized that they were headed toward a mirrored surface, the wrinkled, rippling wall of air that bounded the sea. They broke through, and Jyuushiro took a whooping lungful of air and rain and then another and another.

_"Jyuushiro!" _There was a frantic edge to Shunsui's voice

"Shunsui... I'm... all right," Jyuushiro said between panting breaths. "How... do I... get... to you?"

Both of the fish were under Jyuushiro's arms, and he saw one dark eye roll. The two fish carried him perfectly level on the rolling surface of the sea. He laughed softly and coughed. When he stopped he drew a slow, deep breath. "My friend, what is your name?"

* * *

Shunsui went lax, reassured by Jyuushiro's voice and the familiar sounds of a shovel coming at him from above. He kept his hands over his head, and was grateful for the precaution when metal hit his forearm.

"Yeah! Gotcha, boss!"

Quick hands brushed the dirt away from his arms. A cool hand, soft as petals, grasped Shunsui's. More dirt came down, and Shunsui cried out. His experience in the grave of the Shihouin warrior haunted Shunsui. He knew that the grave was only as deep as he could stand, or should have been. It just felt so much deeper. He gathered his legs under him and turned his head to the side: a claw dug into his cheek, but it was pulling away at the dirt that surrounded him.

"Sorry, boss."

"S'all right." Shunsui spat grit and his own fear. He tried to stand, but his leg muscles gave out. "Let me..."

She pulled on his forearms and wrists while he tried to stand from his crouched position and from under the weight of the wet earth. His muscles trembled, and he pushed harder. Shunsui wiggled, squirmed, and growled when he felt the stuff that was packed around him shift and move. He felt something cold and wet pressed against the back of his neck, and something or someone grasped the back of his collar and pulled.

"Damnit, help yourself." The contralto voice sounded like the woman had a mouthful of something.

Shunsui shouted and shoved with all his might. Reluctantly the earth gave him up, let him free, and Shunsui collapsed on the grassy hillock under the young sakura that stood on its peak. The air was wet with storm, the sky roiled with cloud, and the near branches of the tree were singed black. He gasped for air and, uncannily, could hear Jyuushiro gulping for air as well.

"Wh- who the hell are you?" Shunsui finally got out.

That elicited a peal of laughter. Now that he was above ground, Shunsui could see the two creatures who stood over his grave. One was a bone-colored wolf, pink tongue lolling. Its left eye was golden, and the right had been put out, a scar crossing the silver lid. The other creature was a girl-child made of flowers, all kinds of flowers in all colors, eyes of periwinkle, skin of magnolia, and hands of lilies. She laughed, and it was that bright, sharp laughter that Shunsui had always heard in his head.

"We're your zanpakutou," the wolf said, using the brusque voice that had spoken to him on mountain tops and in battle. It was the same voice that had spoken with a mouthful of his robes. "Do you wish to exchange names?"

Shunsui chuckled and bowed low. "Yes." Remembering the earlier demand, Shunsui added, "Please." The wolf's upper lip curled to show white teeth. "I am Shunsui Souzosa Kyouraku no Jirou. I am pleased to meet you."

"So polite," she murmured.

"A friend of mine taught me that it is sometimes better to be polite," Shunsui said mildly, and it did his heart good to hear Jyuushiro laugh.

"We are Katen Kyokotsu." The two creatures bowed low to Shunsui.

"Katen Kyokotsu." Shunsui blinked and heard Jyuushiro's low voice say: _Sogyo no Kotowari._He pointed at the wolf, "I take it you're the Crazy Bone and she's the Flower Angel?"

The pink tongue lolled through a wolfish snicker. "You might say so, brother. You need a way to call us."

"I can tell you!" The little flower girl said excitedly. "You asked, so I can tell you!"

Shunsui went down on one knee, to get to her level, and she came up to him and cupped a fragrant hand about his ear. _"Hana kaze midarete, kashin naki, tenpū midarete, tenma warau.__"_

The poetry rolled over Shunsui's tongue, and he smiled as he heard Jyuushiro voice a similar couplet. "Thank you," Shunsui murmured.

"You're welcome, little brother," Kyokotsu said with another grin. "But I'm afraid it's time to go back. You're dying, and your world is coming apart. You need to fix it, now, but now we can help you."

Shunsui eyed his blistered hands and the tattered bandages that barely covered him. "Not like this, I hope."

"No. It's probably worse..."

* * *

Jyuushiro came back to himself, pressed against cold rock. He was as dry as the stones against his cheek. He couldn't feel the wound he knew had been there, the sticky puddle of his own blood lay under him, just as it had when he'd dropped away. But nothing _hurt._

_We healed you, _Sogyo no Kotowari said. _When you released us, it's just this once..._

And the twins were a part of Jyuushiro's consciousness, filling every crack and crevice of his being. The sheer enormity in the glassy swell of the rising inevitability of a wave and the crackle and power of a strike of lightning was all his, at his beck and call like the heft and swing of his blade.

He groaned and heard a gasp from behind him. Turning with difficulty, Jyuushiro met Shunsui's stricken gaze.

A dire spike of intent made Jyuushiro fling himself to the side. His own blood flew into the air from his robes, and he heard the clash of steel against stone. The adjucha snarled, whirled, and struck again. This time Jyuushiro reflexively reached for his sash and pulled on the handles he found there. Two of them, and he laughed when he found himself holding two blades that looked like they'd been crossed with the hooks used to pull the fish in from the nets. An unaccustomed weight of red spirit rope strung with square silver charms connected the two, but it looked long enough to not restrict Jyuushiro's swing.

"At least I know how to use these," he said to himself, catching the adjuncha's blade in the curve of the hook.

"Reflejas," the youth murmured. Jyuushiro twisted.

Shunsui screamed. Jyuushiro let up on reflex and heard Shunsui's gasp of relief. Glancing at Shunsui, Jyuushiro blinked at seeing two giant, scimitars in Shunsui's hands.

"What the hell?" Shunsui asked, frustration and pain plain in his voice. "It's like whenever we hit it..."

"... we end up hitting our partner," Jyuushiro finished grimly. "No wonder the Ito brothers went down so quickly."

The adjucha cackled and then surprised the hell out of Jyuushiro by saying in a clear tenor, "That is exactly what it is. Idiots, it's what you get for interfering in someone else's fight."

The slender youth with the bone mask stepped back from the two of them. "I am Espejo Par," he said, and bowed with a flourish. "And I am here to kill you both and open the way for my brethren, so that we may fulfill the bargain we've made. I thought I was done when I finished off those two, but now you're in my way."

"Bargain? Who did you bargain with?"

Espejo smiled a very thin smile. "Fight me, beat me, and we shall see what I might tell you. You've suddenly grown stronger, the two of you, and I am hungry." Espejo chuckled, twirled his sword and charged Jyuushiro. Trained reflexes kicked in and Jyuushiro blocked, but knowing what he knew, he forced a stop after the parry, holding back the automatic riposte so that he wouldn't hit his opponent.

What the hell were they going to do? How could they fight him? What...

"Hit him, overhead!" Shunsui cried out.

On reflex, Jyuushiro did so, swinging one of his blades for the adjucha's head.

"Reflejas!" the kid cried.

Shunsui raised a huge scimitar to block. Jyuushiro felt the jolt of the hit through his hands, wrists, and shoulders, but the clang of metal on metal came from Shunsui. The adjucha smiled when matching notches appeared on both their blades. To Jyuushiro's horror, the slender Hollow swung his sword at Shunsui's exposed torso, but another of those ridiculously big scimitars blocked the hit.

Shunsui's teeth flashed white. "Two are better than one, and I can block it if I know it's coming."

"That's part of the problem solved," Jyuushiro said grimly.

"Now. How the hell do we _hit _him?"

"You don't," Espejo said, his blade flashing forward as quickly as a snake. "I hit you."

_TBC_


	38. Not Alone

_"Now. How the hell do we hit him?" _

_"You don't," Espejo said, his blade flashing forward as quickly as a snake. "I hit you."_

Jyuushiro blocked. One moment, he was standing at the ready, and the next, Sogyo no Kotowari was in the way, steel singing on steel. Jyuushiro felt the initial force of the strike, the killing intent hot and heavy behind it, but then it vanished. There was no shock, no hit. It felt like a hawk snatching a bird from the sky or a pond swallowing a thrown rock. One moment it was there, and in the next moment it was not.

Light winked along the silver tags from the blocking left blade to the right. Jyuushiro watched, fascinated as the light followed the string of tags: blink, blink, blink...

_Aim me at him. _The sword in his left hand shivered under his grip like the tiller of a ship caught in a sudden gust. _Aim me!_

Jyuushiro pointed the shining tip at Espejo, who bared white teeth.

_Strike with me! Strike!_

Jyuushiro lunged, and out of the Sogyo no Kotowari rushed the adjucha's own killing intent. It led Jyuushiro's blade and sliced through Espejo's reiatsu like a fishing knife through pale belly. Espejo's eyes widened, his jaw dropped in surprise, and the returned power sliced into his side and flung him against a pillar of rock like a loose-limbed puppet. He bounced off and fell down. Three breaths later, he groaned, rolled over, and came up on to his hands and knees.

"What the hell was that?" Shunsui asked, sounding incredulous. "What did you do?"

"I don't know!" Jyuushiro said. "It just... happened."

Espejo spat a curse and then launched himself at Jyuushiro. "No one hits me! How dare you hit me!?"

Jyuushiro spun out of the way, ducked another swing, and kept moving backwards while his mind worked furiously.

"You hurt me!" Espejo screamed in frustration. His slender body suddenly bulged, bulked and grew. Hundreds of faces swam on the bone-white surface of his skin, faces distorted with anger, rage, fear or horror. Limbs and claws waved in all directions. "You hurt me. I will kill you!"

Jyuushiro put his swords up. Black scimitars with silver edges came up too, on the periphery of Jyuushiro's vision.

"Not if we kill you first," Shunsui muttered, and Jyuushiro grinned.

The thing charged them both, and Shunsui and Jyuushiro went to either side of it. Ducking and dodging the blades as best as he was able, Jyuushiro, remembering how the left blade had hurt the thing, slashed at it with that sword.

_"Reflejan!" _ the many mouths now cried, and Jyuushiro's blood went cold when he heard a ring of steel on steel and _Shunsui _grunted in pain.

"Shit," Shunsui said, and the pain in his voice made Jyuushiro's gut clench. "He's still cutting us with our own power."

"Our power," Jyuushiro whispered. "Oh."

Espejo roared, and Jyuushiro was hard pressed to keep the teeth and claws off himself without stabbing back in return. One edge slashed across Jyuushiro's upper arm, and another whipped so close to his face that even though he drew back reflexively, he felt skin catch and tear.

"What?" Shunsui called back. "What do you mean by 'Oh?'"

"He hits us with _our_ power. Not his own," Jyuushiro said, and was abruptly buried under an avalanche of gnashing teeth, flailing limbs, and wild wide eyes. He cried out, trapped.

* * *

"Shit shit shit shit shit!" Shunsui chanted and just put his shoulder into the white mass, ignored how bright teeth gnawed on his hair, and shoved with all his might.

_"Reflejan!"_ the thing cried out again.

To Shunsui's utter relief, Jyuushiro shot out from under the mass.

"Ha!" Shunsui barked out. "It worked!"

Espejo let loose a liquid string of words that had the cadence of curses and invocations, and Shunsui smirked. Then the thing came at him, its single blade swung at him faster than Shunsui had ever seen a blade come at him before.

To Shunsui's surprise, Katen Kyokotsu met it straight on. Both blades came up to block the strike. The impact rippled the air about them and shook the ground hard enough to loosen a sheet of rock from the roof and send it crashing to the floor of the cave. Shards whistled about them and one struck Shunsui's arm with stinging force.

"Shit," Shunsui whispered. He would never have been able to do that before.

_Together we are stronger and faster, brother. _Katen Kyokotsu was clearer in Shunsui's head. He could see both sides of her leaning in, engaged, eager and hopeful. _Do you really want to hit him hard?_

_I do, but I'll be damned if I hit Jyuushiro with the backwash of the strike, _Shunsui answered. His training, his body took care of the cascade of ripostes and follow-up blows that Espejo rained down on him.

_Jyuushiro and his zanpakutou can take care of themselves. Hell, we might even help them do what they did again, if we hit the Hollow hard enough. He said that our energy can't hit it, but when he returns its reflected shit back at it..._

That made sense. That was what Jyuushiro had been talking about. Espejo reflects our blows, but somehow Jyuushiro had slung what it gave back at it and had hurt it badly. _Let's go._

_All right, little brother. Let's play a game. _

Bright laughter at the way the world worked filled Shunsui until he grinned, found his footing, and planted his stance deep into the stone.

"A game? What game?" Shunsui asked.

Espejo took advantage of Shunsui's divided attention to swipe at Shunsui's forward leg. Shunsui used the back of Kyokotsu, the bigger blade, to block the flicker of steel. The two swords felt different in his hands. The one in his right was still bigger and heavier, and swung like his customary daito; the one in his left, for all that it looked no different, felt lighter and faster in the same way his shoto had always felt.

"Game?" Jyuushiro asked from behind Shunsui.

_Game. Life's a game. There are rules and winners and losers, and those who can risk it all. Let's start with the Color Game!_ Katen Kyokotsu sang the name, and suddenly Shunsui saw the way it had to work.

"Game," Shunsui stated softly and opened up more distance between himself and Espejo. Jyuushiro seemed amenable to Shunsui's madness, moving with him.

The Hollow cocked his head to listen.

"The Color Game," Shunsui said. The story of the game unrolled in his mind as he spoke it. "Name a color: the color of what you wish to hit. If you're wearing it, the more you wear, the more damage you'll do to me, and the less you wear the less damage you'll do. The enhancement also applies to what I can do to you."

"You mean, what you'll do to your partner," Espejo said.

Shunsui felt Katen Kyokotsu chuckle. _Or so he thinks. Yes, your Jyuushiro and those fishy swords will take care of him. If we hit him with everything we've got..._

"Yes," Jyuushiro whispered, and the certainty in his voice was exactly like when he'd been on the whipping cross. "Do it, Shunsui."

Shunsui sang out to the Hollow, "Maybe you should start with Black, Espejo, see what happens first, huh?"

"As if I'd be such a coward," Espejo sneered. "I call White!"

The air sang with power at the words. The decision was made, and everything snapped into place. Shunsui watched every twitch, nuance, and blink of his inhuman opponent. Even without a body that was like other men, the thing had to have tells. There were still muscles and breath, heartbeat and eyes attached to the will that confronted him. Thoughts could not cross a mind without moving the face or body, and emotions could not brew without a tremor of the hand.

The scene imprinted itself on Shunsui's eye. Lit by the fiery will of Indra, the stones threw stark black shadows. The myriad shades of gray laced the pillars and walls around them. Every writhing limb, open mouth, and blinking eye on his opponent was turned toward him, and when the eyes narrowed, the mouths tightened, and the fists closed, Shunsui knew what was coming.

Shunsui took a deep breath, relaxed, and _waited._

_That's it, brother. _The voice was that of his soul. The one that knew that it was better to wait, to hesitate, until they were sure. Until they _knew_ beyond a doubt when commitment had to be made.

Espejo leaped for them. Dozens of legs appeared on the bottom of the mass of horror, all jumping in concert. Shunsui waited and saw the minute flinch to the left, away from Jyuushiro, when Jyuushiro brought both of his swords up to ready. Then the adjucha was in mid-air, arms raising its sword so that it could smash Shunsui's head open like a melon.

In that split second, Shunsui danced to the right, whirling about like a meditating dervish, neither sword raised to defend, but both committed to a side strike powered by the momentum of his own body. All three of them cried their kiai together. Instead of trying to aim for any specific spot, Shunsui let his senses take over. When the adjucha flinched away, twisting in mid-air, Shunsui's reflexes followed.

_"Reflejan!"_

* * *

It was a good thing Jyuushiro knew exactly how Shunsui fought, that when Shunsui decided to strike, it would be an all-committed strike. Jyuushiro dropped his left sword, put both hands on the hilt of his right, and used both hands and the back of his right blade to block the doubled blow.

The initial impact promised to send Jyuushiro across the entire cave, but then there was the negation, the swallowing up of all the offered power. The tags burst into eye-searing flares of light, the cord glowing between them when they lit.

Quickly, Jyuushiro grabbed the dangling hilt of his left sword. The adjucha snarled at Jyuushiro and sprang, various jaws gaping and dozens of claws swept wide. Jyuushiro swung at Espejo's center of mass.

Two blades roared forth, with black spines and silver edges, twinning Jyuushiro's left blade. Jyuushiro now dropped his right blade and used both hands on the left. When their twin souls struck the monster, they ripped through Espejo's immense reiatsu and slashed a gaping diagonal across the collected chaos of body parts.

Espejo screamed from all its mouths and dropped. The burgeoning blob of its body deflated like a burst bladder. It dwindled into the slender youth they'd faced at first, lying in a spray of blood.

Shunsui reached the youth first, kneeling by Espejo to press two fingers to his throat.

"He's alive," Shunsui said, and Jyuushiro heard both wonder and pain in Shunsui's voice.

The slender Hollow twitched, coughed, and opened his eyes. "What do you want of me?"

Shunsui ignored them and picked Espejo up by the lapels. "You promised us a name and the agreement."

"Kuchiki..." Espejo spat out between bloodied teeth. "And Ryuu."

Jyuushiro and Shunsui stared at each other in blank horror. Then Jyuushiro landed by the two of them, grabbed Shunsui's wrists and shook the adjucha himself.

"Full names. Not just clans. That will set the whole world to war."

Espejo bubbled a laugh. "The moon child is wise... Kuchiki Ren promised us rich hunting, though Ryuu Hinata is not adverse to a soul lost here or there."

"And the agreement?"

"We hunt, but only where they say," Espejo sighed. "They also give us plans, ways and means to reach more souls for feeding."

"Why are you answering so readily?" Shunsui asked.

"Because you beat me." Espejo blinked up at them. "You own me now, and can keep me to suffer or cleanse me."

"Can you tell the others to stop doing what Ren says?"

Espejo laughed, and then coughed up more than even Jyuushiro was comfortable seeing. When the spasms stopped the adjucha shook his head. "I... I can tell them... I was defeated... You were much stronger... than they said..."

Jyuushiro watched Shunsui shift his grip gently. "Do that, please," Shunsui said.

"Please?" The grin on the creature was terrible.

"I'll cleanse you either way," Shunsui said, laying Espejo slowly onto the stone floor and lifted the larger of his two scimitars. "But I'd like it if you'd do us that favor."

A frown wrinkled Espejo's smooth brow. "Favor... you'll cleanse me... even if I don't...?"

Shunsui nodded, and there was a resolve to him that Jyuushiro hadn't seen before.

Espejo blinked in surprise and the slender body relaxed against the stones. "You're strange. I like you... but you're strange." He closed his eyes and moved his slender fingers in a pattern that reminded Jyuushiro of a kido spell. A red flare of light welled out from him like ripples spreading across water. "Done. Now," Espejo's voice took on a note of imperiousness, "let me go."

Shunsui nodded, laid the strong curve of Katen Kyokotsu's edge, just above the tsuba, against Espejo's smooth mask. Katen Kyokotsu began murmur funeral poetry in the back of Shunsui's head. Using one hand on the hilt, the other on the sword's spine, Shunsui pushed the blade into bone. The mask splintered and the boy beneath blew away into dust.

* * *

Miles away, Daisuke fought beside the woman he'd once loved and wondered what he was going to do if he survived the experience.

Snowflakes fell in flurries of white, and if Daisuke squinted he couldn't quite tell the difference between the flakes and the Hollows that swarmed around them. The adjucha on the hillside stood out like a beacon of reiatsu, and Daisuke watched it carefully while the entire Academy contingent struggled to keep up with the nobles. He knew that he stood out on the battlefield with equal brilliance since the release of his shikai.

"They're moving faster," Fong said under her breath.

Daisuke nodded in agreement.

Kuchiki Ren charged another cluster of Hollows. He was, at least, going in the direction of the Shiba Estates, but he wasn't looking back to see if the students could keep up. For some reason neither Kuchiki Ren nor Ryuu Hinata had released their zanpakutou. It seemed very suspicious in the light of Fong's spoken thoughts.

Especially since, without the nobles' zanpakutou released, but with Daisuke's Takekaze released for shikai, Daisuke was the brightest soul on the battlefield. The adjucha was making its way right toward him, Fong, and the students.

"Get everyone to keep up with the clans," Daisuke said, turning.

"You're going to..." Fong startled Daisuke with a punch in the shoulder. "Idiot men. You're nearly as bad as your students."

"Thank you, I think." Daisuke gave Fong a small shove in the right direction. "Go on."

Fong made an unimpressed sound, but she left, running to where the students hauled Yamamoto's helpless body after the rest of the noble warriors. He watched them recede, until he had to turn and deal with all the Hollows who were converging on his reiatsu.

Daisuke got down to the business of his life, killing people so that the ones he wanted to protect could live. Takekaze's ribbon flowed, while the naginata dipped, slashed, and scythed through the Hollows like mowing through grass. It was hot, heavy work, but a task that he and Takekaze were well suited to do. This wasn't a rear-guard action, because the main body was wading deeper into the field of Hollows; but it felt good to do his utmost to clear this part of the battlefield.

The pinpoint bright presence of the adjucha came closer. Even while fighting, Daisuke's reiatsu senses were trained on it, the way he might watch a wolf lurking at the edge of a clearing.

When it made its rush, Daisuke was ready for it.

What he wasn't ready for was his memories punching him in the gut. Suddenly aware of how alone he was, in the midst of his enemies, the physical terror of the last time he was left on a field fell on him. Suffocating horror, the helplessness of being buried in clinging dirt, and the stench of rotting bodies all around him, meat that used to be the people he'd loved, whom he'd protected and who had fought for him. Surrounded by the ruin of his past, Daisuke faced a star-bright intensity of utter killing intent. Daisuke wavered, lowering the butt end of Takekaze onto the dirt.

_Gardener... you're free to fight. You must fight this!_

"I know...I know..." Daisuke whispered, trying to breathe around the agony that wasn't real. He knew that the feelings weren't really what mattered, but he couldn't move. The cold ghost of memory clung about him and slowed his limbs like deep drifting snow.

Takekaze snarled in frustration. _You have me. I'm here, Gardener, you asked for my help and you damned well better..._

A knife sang through the air and sank into the adjucha's shoulder. Red blood bloomed around the silver blade. The adjucha screamed, yanked the knife out, threw it into the rocks at the foot of the mountain, and it came on faster.

"Idiot," Fong crowed. "I knew it!"

"I'm sorry," Daisuke whispered, so quietly he knew she couldn't hear it. The wave of guilt and relief spilled into tears, but he spread his stance and knew the strength of the earth under his feet again. She was here and in danger.

"Swing now!"

Daisuke swung, still half-blinded by the water in his eyes. A jolt followed by the slide of a blade entering flesh and a screech of pain rewarded his efforts.

He furiously dashed the back of one hand across his eyes. His naginata was lodged in the ribs of the adjucha. This close, Daisuke could see that the Hollow used to be a woman, and she was clawing and biting at the shaft, struggling to get free of the big flat blade. Daisuke obliged her, yanking backwards, hearing a crack when Takekaze swung away. The adjucha leaped back, blood spilling, snarling imprecations with every breath, and then she came at him, darts of darkness spreading from one open palm.

A bright kido shield went up in front of him. The darts slammed into it, shaking it, cracking it in two places, but the darts bounced and dropped to the ground. Fong held her hands up, keeping the shield in place.

"Did you have a plan?" she asked conversationally.

"Hit her until she goes away?" Daisuke suggested weakly. He struggled to get his breathing under control. Having Fong there was doing wonders, but it still took time.

"For a supposed tactics and strategy teacher, you're damned unimaginative," Fong shot back.

"Old Man Yamamoto is the instructor. I'm just the gardener." Daisuke said with a laugh that did much to chase off his terror. "How about: I'll distract her, you get your knife and stab her in the back?"

Sudden terror engulfed Daisuke again as he thought about Fong leaving him for the knife. She could die trying, and then he'd be alone again. He fought off the thought like fighting off a Hollow on his back. Enough. He was going to trust her abilities even if it killed him.

"Straightforward and not at all subtle. So like you, Gardener..." The fondness of Fong's tone made Daisuke gulp around a lump in his throat.

"Go," he said.

And Fong was off like an arrow from a bow for the cliff base.

Daisuke looked at the adjucha, aimed for the staring mask, and commanded, "Takekaze, Wind Strike!"

He swung. Brilliant spring green light sprang from the tip in a straight line before him. The adjucha reacted swiftly enough to turn aside. Her blade was aimed for Daisuke's middle, but she was late, a split second too late.

Takekaze's light fell on her shoulder instead of her head, but the force of Takekaze's hit staggered her and split the earth behind her. Daisuke watched the adjucha's shoulder part and the edge of her sword veer from true. The adjucha's knees buckled. When her wobbling sword met Daisuke's side, it hit him with the flat, not the edge.

"Serro, rasga!" The adjucha cried, and pain ripped through Daisuke's side.

"Damn you, Gardener!" Fong screamed and jumped onto the Hollow's back, blade to white throat...

... and Daisuke dropped into his inner world.

His walled garden was white with snow. A wet, sodden snow with big fat flakes, already dripping from the branches of the trees and the leaves of the bamboo.

"That's my girl," Daisuke said and dropped onto the damp cold ground.

Takekaze bent over him, her pine green eyes wide. Her traditional robes with their bamboo pattern in all the greens of a growing world swung in an unseen wind that fanned her grass green hair. All around her was a mountain grove of bamboo, so thick there was no sunlight on the ground, and the wind rustled the leaves.

"I won't tell her you said that," she said with a smile.

"Good."

"You'll have to live and tell your little ant yourself."

Sui Ma Yi meant smashing ant. It was Fong's code name in the House of Godly Gears. The thought of having to tell Fong that he'd used such a phrase for her was daunting. "That was a very deep cut on top of all the damage that was done in the caves."

"It was, but not too deep for you to live a while longer."

Daisuke digested that even his zanpakutou spirit felt that he might be dying. Fong's cry echoed in his ears. He could not leave her alone to face that thing. "What do I need to do?"

"Dissuade it."

"With reason?"

Takekaze laughed. "Does it seem amenable to talking?"

"No!" Daisuke blinked at his zanpakutou. "Then with force."

Takekaze nodded grimly. "You've hurt it badly already. The little ant is holding her own, but it will not be for long."

"She has power."

"You knew that from the start."

Daisuke blinked and shook his head. "No, I d-" Then he remembered exactly how Sui Ma Yi's kisses had felt, even through her black silk mask. The spark between them had been more than mutual attraction, the first surges of love. They'd known how the other felt from the beginning, known how to respond to each other more than people should have been able to without sensing reiatsu. "Oh..."

"Oh, indeed," Takekaze sighed. "Gardener, will you do it for her?"

Daisuke frowned at his zanpakutou spirit. "Do what?"

Takekaze made an exasperated sound. "You know exactly what. We've been working on it for the last two decades."

"It." Daisuke raised one eyebrow. "Tell me. What is this it?"

"Mastering me, Gardener." Her tone was as patient. "You've been fighting with me for twenty years: it's past time you truly mastered me. That's the only way I can think of to get you healed. Release me in bankai and you will have everything you and your little ant need."

"Mastering..."

Sword hilts sprouted from stalk and rock, ground and hillock.

"Come, Gardener, fight me as you've never fought before..." Takekaze urged, and attacked.

Daisuke dodged, surprised, resisting the reflex. This was his friend and companion of decades, the one being who was always with him, and he'd always so hated to be alone. Asking Takekaze for help for shikai had been easy. This...

"All growing is painful, Gardener," she said, whirling and coming at him again. "But if you don't do this, you'll die and your little ant will die with you. Come. Find my weakness, and in it you will find your strength."

Daisuke thought once again of Fong's desperate cry, how she'd sprung to his rescue against a foe that outmatched her a thousand to one. He couldn't fight _this_ fight for himself. "It has to be for her."

"Well, enough, Gardener. We know how you work, so... come at me," Takekaze said, and beckoned to him. "For her."

Daisuke charged.

* * *

Fong Jin Wei hated this. She hated seeing Daisuke fall, hated jumping in to save him. She especially hated having to deal directly with the damned Hollow. All her instincts screamed that the adjucha was going to kill her, eat her, and spit out her bones.

Luckily, the Hollow was injured. Less luckily, Daisuke was bleeding into a pool of blood and lying there looking more dead than alive.

She screamed and tried to rip the adjucha's throat out. The Hollow grabbed Fong's knife arm and used it to throw Fong. Fong tumbled, caught a glimpse of the horizon. That was enough for her to launch a shunpo jump in mid-air. She screamed as she came down, cutting off the cry when she hit the ground. She immediately shunpo jumped again, aiming to land behind the adjucha. The Hollow turned to face the scream, so Fong got her position and stuck her dagger deep into the juncture between shoulder and neck. Unhappily for Fong, the adjucha whirled around, wrenching the handle from her hand.

As hurt as the Hollow was, instead of using the sword she had been waving around, the Hollow jumped on Fong with claws and teeth. The weight of the adjucha drove the breath from Fong, and she would have screamed right in its face if she could have: instead, she settled for slamming the heel of her hand into its masked face. The adjucha reared back, her claws lashing at Fong's face and slamming into her jaw, and the edges of the world darkened.

Fong expected to die, expected the Hollow to follow through and just finish her. Instead, Daisuke's familiar voice called out, "Bankai. Thousand Leaves Cut the Wind!"

There was a flash of brilliant green light, and an enormous depth of reiatsu suddenly pressed her to the ground. The Hollow jumped off of her to face the new threat, and Fong could see that the threat was, indeed, Daisuke - but he was transformed. The naginata in his hands dissolved into narrow bamboo leaves, thousands of them with gleaming edges. They danced and whirled about Fong and the Hollow with a rustling so immense it sounded like a wind storm through a forest of bamboo. The adjucha crouched low, eyes wide, watching the whirling wall of green. Fong felt like a squashed mouse, suddenly ignored by the cat because a dog has strolled into view from around a corner.

Daisuke was dressed now like a gardener, with a green cloth tied over his hair, an apron of blue over a hakama of earth brown. His hands were gloved with dirt-crusted leather, and his boots mired with the rich loam.

"Leave her alone," Daisuke barked. Killing intent flooded from his sturdy frame, and the adjucha stiffed and then slowly straightened up to standing.

"Who are you?" the adjucha asked. "I was not told that one of such power would oppose me and mine."

"Told?!" Fong tried to get up, groaned against their combined reiatsu, and fell down again.

Daisuke ignored her and spread his stance. "I am Uekiya Daisuke, and I stand against you. Who are you?"

The female hollow took a breath to answer, but suddenly a red ripple of light appeared, fluttering to her ear like a blood-colored butterfly. The adjucha cocked her head, listened, as close as she was, Fong had no choice but to hear as well.

A male voice, calm and cool, spoke from the thing of light. "We have been betrayed. I was set against those who were far stronger than advertised, to die for nothing... break this agreement. It is nothing but a human trap."

The butterfly dissipated. The adjucha threw back her head and startled Fong by screaming at the sky.

Going to all fours like some cornered beast, the adjucha snarled at Daisuke. "I am no one. Nothing of consequence to you anymore. I have another that I must revenge myself and mine upon."

Daisuke bowed to the Hollow, and Fong was never more relieved in her life when his bankai blew out like a candle. He simply stood and watched while the adjucha bounded toward the knot of students and nobles.

"What the hell?" Fong asked.

He smiled at her, and it struck her all over again how sweet his smiles could be. Instead of answering her with words, he surprised her by bending to kiss her gently. Then, worse yet, instead of answering her, he gave her a hand up. "Let's go."

Fong got to her wobbly feet and followed him, dreading the thought of going back through the Hollow horde again, but the adjucha's passage seemed to confuse and disorganize the entire field of Hollows. They were scattering.

On the edges of the crowd, the Hollows who were furthest from the reiatsu users were drifting off like aimless sheep. Those closer to the students were still drawn by the richness of reiatsu, but the hollows were attacking in uncoordinated rushes. Any sort of resistance caused the hollows to back away or be cleansed. One charged Daisuke. He watched it approach, and at the very last instant slammed Takekaze into its mask. The Hollow blew into dust.

"What's going on?" Fong asked, though she had a feeling she knew.

"They're breaking up," Daisuke said with satisfaction, then staggered and let Fong catch his weight on her shoulders. She started to really worry when he leaned on her. "I wonder what those children have done to that adjucha's companion?"

Kuchiki Ren's bankai flared, a flower of white light tipped in red that spread all around him. Fong heard Ren's voice snap a command that echoed through the pass. The flower snapped shut, and hundreds of Hollow signatures, along with that of the adjucha, vanished as if they had never been.

"Well." Fong blinked at the empty space. "I wonder if she knew that he could do that?"

"I doubt it. She was treating me as if I were the strongest on the battlefield, so he may well have hidden that from her. Though now, for everyone else, he's the hero."

"Shit. We're the only witnesses to his betrayal?" Fong could feel a headache coming on.

Daisuke nodded. "You know what that means, if he knows we know."

"We're dead, if we don't have protection."

"Then he can't know until we do."

Fong frowned, thinking. "Was that why you walked away from everyone to face it?"

"He couldn't hear what it said to us," Daisuke said soberly. "And in any case, his clearing the battlefield the way he has should make getting back to the Shiba Estate easier for everyone."

That was when Fong realized that her side, the one pressed against Daisuke's faltering weight, was warm and wet. He staggered again, and she managed to catch him in his fall, to ease him to the earth.

"You can't die!" she yelled at him, and was relieved when his eyes opened to look at her.

"I wouldn't dare. You have to... get me home." The thin thread of his voice drifted to her. "But this... better cover... he'll think... she killed me... and then went... for him."

"Damn you and your maze of tactics."

"I am... an instructor..." he breathed and relaxed, eyes closing.

Holding her panic firmly in hand, Fong pressed her fingers against his pulse. It was firm, steady, and she sagged.

"All right, Gardener," she said, and let herself finally cry against his unconscious form. "You win. Damn you. You win."


End file.
